When Two Worlds Meet
by MohawkWoman
Summary: After Uncas is brutally stabbed and pushed off the cliff, Alice throws herself off as well in order to die with the man she loves. But as one nightmare ends, an even stranger nightmare begins...for both of them! Uncas and Alice focused with other characters. Rated M for content. Reviews are welcomed.
1. Chapter 1: The Cliff

***Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between people, places or names are entirely coincidental. I do not own the book or the movie "The Last of the Mohicans" or any of the characters in it. I also do not own any other books mentioned in this story or any characters from those books and I do not profit from writing this story in any way. I am writing it just for fun.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Cliff**

He knew now that he couldn't do it.

When he saw the handful of warriors leading Alice away from the Huron village, he thought he'd be able to take them on and free her. What he hadn't realized was that there was actually this many of them. He also hadn't taken into account that the jump through the falls the night before and the struggle to get out of the river afterwards, combined with the all night run and the climb up the side of the mountain a few moments ago had completely drained him of his strength. He hadn't felt tired when he took off by himself after Alice's captors, but he did _now._ That was how Magua had managed to cut him with the knife.

Magua wasn't tired, but _he_ was exhausted.

Looking down at the fresh wound across his lower chest, Uncas saw the blood flowing out of it through the tear in his shirt. Raising his head, his eyes met those of Alice. Beautiful hazel eyes that just moments ago were full of the hope that she would be rescued, that he would save her. Now those eyes were full of despair and anguish….and the knowledge that she was going to see him die.

_'I'm sorry Alice.'_ he silently tried to convey to her with his eyes across the short distance between them. _'I thought I could do it, but instead I let you down.'_

Then he saw the look that she gave him in response. The look that said she understood, that he didn't let her down, that she didn't want him to die, that she…loved him? It was that look from her that replenished his strength and gave him the determination to defeat the Huron leader and fight every last one of his remaining warriors if necessary.

He had to do it. For her. For them.

With a groan from the effort, he shoved Magua backward with all of his might and climbed up onto the large slab of rock the Huron had jumped onto. Attempting to swing his tomahawk at the older warrior, he was once again taken off guard when the man lunged forward and grabbed hold of him instead, easily throwing him down. His exhaustion had dulled his reflexes and the loss of blood had weakened him. He had not seen that move coming.

Normally he would have.

Landing hard on his back, Uncas fought to catch his breath after having it knocked out of him and he grappled with the warrior to try and get a grip on him. But because the Huron was not wearing a shirt, there was nothing for him to grab _onto. _He himself was not so fortunate.

He _was_ wearing a shirt.

Feeling the warrior's hands grasping his sleeves, Uncas shifted his weight in an effort to get out from underneath his opponent and the two of them rolled over each other several times until they came to a stop dangerously close to the edge. Finding himself once again on his back, Uncas tried to get up. But before he could, the war leader slammed a well-aimed arm against his wound which knocked him flat and the resulting pain momentarily incapacitated him as his vision blurred. Rapidly blinking several times to clear his eyes, Uncas attempted to regain his senses as Magua repositioned himself on top of him, but before he could do anything more than make a few clumsy attempts to grab hold of the Huron, a sharp searing pain in his right shoulder nearly made him pass out again when his advisory's knife plunged into it. Unable to move, he laid sprawled on the rock and stared up at the sky as he felt the warm blood flowing into his armpit and down the back of his neck from the fresh wound in his shoulder. He was not going to lie there and be slaughtered like a dog.

He was Mohican. He would die fighting.

Mustering up the strength to move, he shakily rose to his feet with his right arm hanging useless at his side, blood dripping from his fingertips, and he stood for several seconds as he faced the Huron. It was now or never. He knew he couldn't do it before he even tried. But he had to try. Feeling his trembling legs about to give way from under him, he looked his killer in the eye and raised his left arm to take one more backswing at him with his tomahawk. It was no use. Magua easily stopped his intended blow by grabbing his wrist, keeping his outstretched arm in place while once again putting the knife to use, plunging it twice into his exposed left side. He cried out from the agony.

This was it. This was the end.

With no strength left in him, Uncas leaned back helplessly against his opponent and stared up at the sky. It had started to rain. It was just a drizzle. Very light. Misty, almost. Despite the excruciating pain coursing through his otherwise numb body, he found the scattered raindrops that landed on his face to be oddly refreshing. Strange, that. Then his thoughts shifted to her, and the events of the past several days flashed before his eyes….but_ only_ the ones involving her.

Alice.

Beginning with the moment he caught her by the arms as she started to run after the horses he'd just chased away, to when he watched her waiting her turn to climb up the rocks alongside the river and the way she had looked at the falls to her left, he thought about nothing but her. She seemed to like waterfalls. She had been mesmerized by the larger one they had taken shelter behind after the massacre. Was that just yesterday? Right now it seemed like that had happened a lifetime ago.

Perhaps it had.

She hadn't seen him sitting there, but he had seen her. And he'd also seen how close she was getting to edge of the rock path. Too close in fact, and he had called out to her to get back as he reached up and pulled her down on top of him. Oh how frightened she was as the realization of how close she'd come to falling off the edge struck her. He had held her then, cradling her in his arms as he stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.

Sweet Alice.

She had clung to him as he tried to calm her down. Then she did something he wasn't expecting. Something he had wanted to do to her, but didn't have the courage to. She kissed him. Then she kissed him again, harder. Startled, he pushed her away and stared at her with the confusion he felt clearly visible on his face. Then she said his name as she placed the palm of her hand on his cheek and this time he was the one to kiss her. Holding each other in a tight embrace, their lips and tongues explored each other until finally he stopped. He knew she didn't want him to. The expression on her face told him that. She wanted him to take her. He wanted her too. He wanted nothing more than to make love to her, right then and there. But this was not how he wanted it to happen. Not now. Not in this place. He wanted it to be someplace beautiful, someplace private where they could take their time and enjoy each other. And he wanted it to happen when he was sure it was what she really wanted. When he was sure that _he_ was what she really wanted. He knew how he felt about her. What he didn't know at the time was how _she_ felt about _him._

But now he_ did_ know. And it was too late.

With the Huron's arms around him being the only thing holding him up, he waited for the final cut from the knife to end his life. He knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time. And it was just a matter of how. He already felt his life leaving him with the blood flowing from his wounds. Too weak to even hold his head up, he had no choice but to rest it on his enemy's shoulder and he knew it left his throat exposed. So _that's_ how it would happen. Still staring up at the sky, he felt Magua moving and he didn't need to see him to know what he was about to do.

When it came it felt like a tickle. Should it have?

He had expected it to feel different, sharp and deep, with more force. Not feathery light. It was almost as though Magua had been distracted in some way. Then, after receiving a shove, he found himself pitching over the edge of the cliff, on the mountain they called the Promontory. Sliding for several feet down the rock face, he finally found himself freefalling head first until his body naturally turned in midair and he fell the rest of the way facing upward as though lying on his back. With the sky still above him, he watched helplessly as the side of the mountain flashed by in his peripheral vision and he could tell by how rapidly the mountaintop was growing farther and farther away that the ground was approaching fast.

He had planned to do it this winter.

He had planned to finally take a wife and settle down. Start a family. Up until a few days ago he hadn't known who his wife was going to be yet. He was going to choose her from among the young women in the Lenape village he'd be wintering in. Then he met Alice, and everything changed. He had sworn to protect her with his life. He hadn't realized when he said it that that's what was going to happen. But it was alright. He had no regrets about dying for her. He would do it again if he had to. His only regret was that he never had a chance to tell her how he felt about her. Did she know?

He had to tell her. While there was still some time left.

Locating the ledge he had fallen from as it grew smaller and smaller the farther he fell, the ledge she was still standing on, he summoned up the strength to speak the words he'd wanted to say to her since the day he'd watched her standing by the river.

"I love you, Alice Munro."

Then he felt his body hit the ground, and everything went black.

* * *

Why did he do it?

Backing up slowly, Alice felt the ground with her booted foot and knew that the edge of the cliff was right behind her. Why did he come here by himself? Did he actually think he could defeat all of them alone? Maybe he hadn't known there would be this many. Or maybe his father and brother were coming. That's what she had hoped. She had waited for them to appear….but they never came. They still hadn't. Where were they? What was keeping them? Didn't they know this would happen? Surely they must have. They would never have left him to die. Something must have delayed them.

Why_ did_ he have to die? Why him?

She loved him. She never had a chance to tell him so, but she loved him. From the moment she first saw him on the George Road, he was all she could think about. Several young men had courted her in the past, bewitched for some odd reason by her shyness. But she had felt nothing for them and she turned all of them away. Often she had wondered what kind of man would steal her heart. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine it would be a man like_ him_. He was the one who made her pulse quicken. He was the only one she wanted to kiss. The only one she wanted to touch.

Uncas.

She _had_ kissed him. And she had _touched_ him. And he had done the same in return to her. All in that brief, glorious moment they had shared in that small recess beneath the waterfall. She hadn't wanted him to stop, and she would have given herself completely to him if he had wanted to take her. But he didn't take her. Why? She thought it was because he didn't want her. That he had no feelings for her. But that wasn't true. He _did_ have feelings for her. He never would have done something like this if he hadn't. He tried to save her. He fought for her. And he died for her.

And now he was gone.

Turning her head, she looked down to the bottom of the ravine at the base of the mountain. Where was he? She couldn't find him. Wait! There he was. Even from this distance she could tell he was lying on his back. No doubt he was staring up at the sky, with eyes as lifeless as his body. A body she had longed to see unclothed, and now would never have the chance. _Shameful thoughts!_ No. Not shameful. Beautiful. Beautiful thoughts about a beautiful man. A man she had wanted for her own….and now could never have.

_'Why did you have to die?'_

She had wanted to share her life with him. To make a home with him. She had wanted to take care of him and love him. She had wanted to be his wife, wanted to bear his children. It would have been so wonderful. They would have been so happy, but now they could never do any of those things together. Slowly, reluctantly, she turned back to face her warrior's murderer.

_'You killed him.'_

_'You killed the only man I will ever love. Your hate destroyed a beautiful man. A brave man. You are not a warrior, Magua. You are a coward. He was the warrior. A warrior that you will never be. _With every ounce of her being, she silently relayed those thoughts to him. Staring at him, she saw the uncertain look in his eyes. What else did she see there? Fear? Was he afraid? What was he afraid of? Was he afraid she was going to jump? He must have been, for he lowered his knife, and gestured for her to come to him with a hand covered in blood.

Uncas' blood.

_'Oh Uncas! You gave up everything for me. I would have given up everything for you too. I would have given up the only life I ever knew to be with you. Perhaps I still can. If I cannot lie beside you in life, then I will lie beside you in death.' _Raising her eyes from his bloody hand to his face, Alice stared once again at the Huron leader and silently spoke to him.

_'Do you think you can have me, Magua? Do you think I will go with you? I will never go with you. I will go with him.' _

Turning away from the Huron leader, she glanced for a moment at the mountains in the distance before looking down once again at the body of Uncas as she leaned to the left and allowed herself to fall from the edge. _'I'm coming, Uncas! Wait for me! I'm coming!'_ His body, which had been so far away when she'd looked down at him from the cliff, now grew closer and closer. Reaching out with her hand, she touched his bloody shoulder right before she impacted with the ground, and she barely had time to speak out loud to him before she submerged into darkness.

"I'm here, my love."

* * *

Beep….beep….beep….beep…..

Gradually coming awake, Uncas became aware that he was lying on his back on something soft and comfortable, and could hear a strange beeping sound coming from somewhere to the left of his head. He also became aware of the voices of several people, two males and one female, who were speaking to each other near him. Fighting the urge to sink back into the darkness that still surrounded him, he moved his head from side to side as he struggled to come fully awake and open his eyes. Listening to the voices, he was unable to recognize who they belonged to, and although the voices were speaking English, the manner in which they spoke was not like anything he'd heard before.

"He's starting to come around." said male number one.

"Should we put his arm in the sling?" asked male number two.

"No, let's hold off on that for a bit." replied male number one. "I don't want to have the weight of his arm resting on top of that chest wound right now, especially if he goes ballistic on us. Let's give him a chance to wake up first and we'll see how active he gets. Do you have the Lorazepam ready?"

"It's right here." replied the female voice.

"Good." said male number one. "Let's hope we don't need it."

Still moving his head slowly from side to side, Uncas tried to recall where he was and remembered the fight with the Huron and the fall from the cliff. These people who were talking didn't sound like they were Huron though. Who were they? And it didn't feel like he was lying on the ground at the base of that cliff either, which is where he should be. Whatever he was laying on was too soft for that. Where was he? And what was that strange beeping noise? Creasing his brow as he continued to try and open his eyes, he tried to speak to whoever was standing next to him, but found it nearly impossible to get the words out.

"Wrrhhh..." he moaned in an attempt to ask where he was.

"Hey buddy! Can you hear me?" asked male number one.

Annoyed that someone had begun to tap his cheek with their hand, he tried to tell whoever it was to stop.

"Nnnhhh…sssttaaa…."

"Come on, buddy. Wake up." said male number one. "Try to follow my voice. Come on, that's it. Open your eyes. _Come_ on, buddy, you can do it."

Becoming more alert as he regained consciousness, Uncas finally started to win the battle to get his eyelids to cooperate with him, and it was at that same moment that he became aware of something that was looped around his ears and ran under his nose. Whatever it was, it felt cool and was blowing air into his nose. What was going on? Where was he? Who were these people?

After several attempts, Uncas finally managed, with a tremendous effort on his part, to open his eyes and keep them open. With his vision out of focus, he stared straight up and wondered why the sky above him looked different before he noticed three blurry figures leaning over him.

"Hey there, buddy! How do you feel?" male number one asked him. "Get ready." the man added in a lower tone to his two companions.

Settling his eyes on the figure looming closest to him on his right, Uncas blinked several times while trying to focus on the person and when his vision finally cleared, he saw the figure was a Yengeese man. Appearing to be about the same age as his father, Chingachgook, the man had light brown hair that was slightly dusted with grey and was cut short in layers. Turning to his left, he saw another male Yengeese with even shorter dark hair and who was considerably younger than the first man. Standing next to him was a young woman with pale blond hair pulled back in a way that resembled a horse's tail and who appeared to be not much older than himself. He also noticed that all three individuals wore strange shirts made in the same style, with sleeves that barely went below their shoulders, a v-shaped neck and were of a solid color; the older man's being an odd shade of light green and the other two wearing identical shades of light blue.

Becoming more aware of his surroundings by the minute, Uncas took a closer look around and realized he was indoors in some sort of room that resembled nothing he'd ever seen before and was lying on a bed of some kind that had a….a fence on either side of it?

Looking at the fence on the left, he noticed a skinny silver tree growing outside of it next to the bed. Following the trunk up to the top of the tree, he saw several pouches which were hanging from two silver branches. One pouch looked like it contained a clear liquid, like water, and the other held a dark red liquid that reminded him of…..blood? From the bottom of each pouch, a long vine filled with whatever was inside the pouches trailed downward and as he followed the vines to where they went, he saw to his horror that both of them were attached to the back of his left hand! Startled, Uncas' eyes grew wide as he began to breathe faster and he became aware that the strange, continuous beeping sound was getting faster as well. Searching for the source of the noise, he turned his head to the far left and saw another shorter tree with a square box perched on top of it. On the front of the box, several rows of thin green lines danced across the black front of the box and another vine ran from the box over to him. Now in a panic, he followed where that vine led to and discovered that it branched out into four separate vines, each of them going to four round white patches that were attached to his bare chest.

"Come on, buddy, take it easy. Everything's ok. Just calm down now." he heard the older Yengeese male say to him.

What was going on? Who _were_ these people? What kind of a place_ was _this? Where was Alice? Was she here? Had they taken_ her_ captive too? What were they doing to her? What were they doing to _him?_

Turning his attention back to the older Yengeese, Uncas watched in frightened confusion as the man removed yet another y-shaped vine-like object that had a long tail from around his neck. Placing the two top forks of the object into each ear, the man then took hold of the tail end which had a round silver disc on it and began to move toward him with it. Terrified, Uncas realized the man was about to place the silver disc on his chest over his heart and he lashed out at the man to defend himself.

_"No! No! Ge…get away…..get away from me! Al….Alice…..ALICE! ALICE! Whe….where…..where is she? WHERE IS SHE? ALICE!" _

_"Hey, hey! Come on! Calm down. Calm down now! WE NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!"_ shouted the older man. _"Hold him down! Come on, buddy, calm down! WHERE'S THAT LORAZEPAM!"_

_"I GOT IT!"_

_"Watch out for his shoulder!"_

_"Jesus, he's strong!"_

_"Fernando, keep his leg still!"_

Struggling to fight off his attackers, Uncas saw more and more similarly dressed Yengeese rush over to him until about half a dozen of them had him pinned down to the bed. Whipping his head from side to side as he continued to try and fight back, he saw the young woman with the pale blonde hair approach him with a small cylindrical object that had a long needle sticking out of one end. Firmly held down to the bed by his attackers, Uncas could do nothing but watch helplessly as she rubbed something on his arm and stuck the needle in.

Feeling the pinprick in his arm, he immediately felt a warm and tingly sensation spread through his body before everything went black again.

* * *

"Un…cas?"

Resisting an overwhelming urge to go back to sleep, Alice tried to open her eyes but found the effort to do so was too great. Shifting her head to the side, she realized she was lying on her back….but that didn't make sense. She remembered falling and landing beside Uncas. Uncas! In her mind's eye she could still see him lying there as she'd plummeted toward him. It was strange how much she noticed in those last seconds before everything went dark. He was lying on his back, and she had touched his shoulder right before she landed. It was wet. Wet with blood. And she remembered his body had felt warm. Strange, she had expected it to be cold. And his eyes were closed, not open and staring into nothing as she had thought they would be.

Fighting against the sleepiness, she realized she was lying on her back on what felt like a bed. That couldn't be right? Even though she was groggy, she distinctly remembered falling face down next to Uncas' dead body. Why was she on her back and in a bed of all things? She should be lying on her stomach on the ground with her face against the dirt. And where was he? Where was Uncas?

"Uncasss?" she softly mumbled again.

Slowly turning her head from side to side, she stopped when the movement caused pain to shoot through her skull. Still unable to open her eyes, she tried to move the rest of her body and found it to be very sluggish in response. Her right leg felt heavy and weighed down, almost like it was encased in something, and her right wrist and hand seemed to be confined the same way as well.

"Hey there young lady, time to wake up." said a male voice off to her right.

"Huhhh?"

"Wake up! Come on. Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Ye….yezz….."

"What's your name?"

"Huhhh?"

"What's your name?

"Al…..Al-ice Mun-ro…Wherezz Uncasss? Wherezz he?"

"Who's Uncas? Is that your friend's name?" the male voice asked.

"Yezz….Uncas! Uncas, I love you….Uncasss…"

Unable to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness anymore, Alice gave in and allowed herself to sink into the oblivion that enveloped her.

* * *

Two men in green scrubs stepped away from Alice's bedside and stood in a corner of the room. One of the men folded his arms and frowned as he regarded his patient lying in the hospital bed. Beside him, his friend and colleague inquired about the condition of the young woman.

"How's she doing?

"She came around for a little while there, but she blacked out again. How about your guy?"

_"Ha!_ Well, just as I expected, he was pretty confused when he woke up since the last thing he probably remembered was fighting his attacker."

"Did he get violent?"

_"Oh_ yeah! It took _six_ of us to hold him down. I didn't want to, but I had no choice but to sedate him. If Fernando hadn't ducked when he did, he would have gotten clocked a good one in the eye with a fist."

"Did you get a name before he went under?"

"No. Not _his_ anyway, but he kept calling out for someone named Alice."

"That's what she said_ her_ name was. Alice Munro…and she kept _asking_ for someone named Uncas. Said she loved him. Think that's your guy? Boyfriend maybe?"

"Could be. Wait! What did she say her name was again?" the friend asked with an incredulous expression coming over his face.

"Alice Munro."

"And she was asking for someone named Uncas?"

"That's right. Why? Do you recognize the names?"

"Yeah….yeah, I do." the friend replied with a frown as he looked at the unconscious young woman lying in the bed.

"Norman, that's _great!"_ said the first man, who was happy to know they may have found out the names of their two patients. "Do you know if they have any family?"

"Oh, they got family alright."

"Well let's contact them and get them down here so they can identify these two kids!"

"Yeah, well there's a little problem with that." said the friend as he rubbed his eyes.

"What do you mean? What kind of a problem?"

"Their families have been dead for over two hundred years."

* * *

_"What!_ What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come on, let's go out in the hall and I'll explain."

Exiting the room, Dr. Norman Harris leaned against the doorway and stared at the patient sleeping in the bed inside. At fifty five years of age with a tall, trim build and light brown hair that was becoming tinged with grey, he had been practicing medicine in the trauma unit of the hospital for over twenty years, and in that time he thought he'd seen every type of case there was, but somehow he had a feeling this one was going to be different…_very_ different.

Joining him outside of the room, Dr. Richard Spencer waited to hear the other man's explanation for his surprising statement. Tall, yet slightly shorter than the other man who he had attended medical school with, he ran his hand over his thinning dark brown hair before folding his arms across his chest and looking at his old friend as though he had lost his mind.

"Ok Norman, talk to me. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Oh, just a possible explanation for the clothes our two patients were wearing when they were brought in. You know I'm a history buff, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Well, one of my favorite periods was the French and Indian war, particularly the siege of Fort William Henry, which took place just north of here up in Lake George. The man in charge of the fort during the siege was Colonel Edward Munro and with him at the fort were his two daughters, a Miss Cora Munro and her younger sister…..Alice."

"I still don't get where you're going with this. So _what_ if my patient has the same name as this colonel's daughter. Alice Munro isn't an unusual name….granted_ Uncas _isn't one you hear every day." said Richard.

"Exactly. Let me tell you the rest of it. Cora Munro kept a diary, which was published by one of her descendants about ten or fifteen years ago, and in it she told of how she and her sister were attacked by a Huron war party while they were traveling to the fort with a military detachment. Apparently, the leader of this war party had it in for the colonel and he led the attack intending to kill the man's daughters. Traveling nearby were three men, who rescued the sisters. The men were members of the Mohican tribe and the oldest of the three went by the name of Chingachgook. With him were his two sons, Nathaniel Poe, who was his adopted white son, and the Mohican's _blood_ son…..Uncas."

_"What?"_

"You heard right. I don't think Alice Munro and Uncas are the real names of these two."

"So what's your theory?"

"You saw the clothes they were wearing when they came in? She had on a dress that was right out of the 1700's and_ his_ clothes were the kind worn by the Indians who lived in this region during that same time period." explained Norman. "I think these two might have doing some kind of roll playing up there on the Promontory. Maybe they're members of a historical reenactment group or something and they were out there rehearsing. Funny thing though….those clothes looked authentic. I mean _really_ authentic! Reproduction clothing always has a slightly different look to it…newer and not made quite the same, you know what I mean? Their clothes weren't new at all. They were well broken in and looked like the real thing. And the knife, sheath, wampum belt and brass bracelets the young man was wearing? _Those_ are definitely the real deal. I know collectors who would pay a_ fortune_ to own those items. Those tattoos of his are authentic designs as well, and they weren't done in any tattoo parlor, that's for sure. They were applied in the traditional way that tribes did tattoos back in those days, by scraping the design into the skin and rubbing charcoal into it."

"So the guy was wearing some family heirlooms from his ancestors in order to rehearse for some role he was intending to play and he had tribal tattoos applied old style. There's nothing wrong or unusual about that." said Richard. "And I still don't get why you have doubts about what she said their names were. Alice Munro could actually _be_ her name. Look Norman, they're both just starting to come around _and _they're on some pretty heavy duty pain meds. I'm surprised either of them were able to say _anything_ coherent at this point."

"I agree with what you just said, however we _have_ to take into consideration the clothes they were wearing _and_ his personal effects. I'm no expert at this, but I think the trauma they experienced has caused them to block out who they really are and instead, they both assumed the identity of the people whose roles they may have been cast to play." said Norman just as two men wearing suits approached them.

"Excuse me? We're looking for a Dr. Richard Spencer and Dr. Norman Harris."

"You found us." replied Richard. "I'm Dr. Spencer and this is Dr. Harris. What can we do for you gentlemen?"

"I'm Detective Frank D'Angelo and this is Detective Chris Porter with the State Police Violent Crimes Division. We're investigating the attack on that couple in Promontory State Park." said the older of the two men as he looked in the doorway of Alice's room. "How's she doing?"

"Physically, she'll be fine." replied Richard with a glance toward his friend. "Psychologically?...the jury's still out."

"How's the guy doing? Did he make it?" Det. D'Angelo asked.

"Yeah, he did." replied Norman. "It was touch and go for a while there, but he's one hell of a strong fella. He's gonna be ok."

"I'm glad to hear it! My partner and I arrived on the scene just as they were getting ready to load him into the helicopter. We couldn't believe what that lunatic did to him! When I saw the puddle of blood he'd been lying in, I thought for sure he was a goner."

"He nearly was. Did you find anything at the scene to identify either of them?"

"No, not a thing. They didn't have any ID on them and we couldn't locate anything they may have dropped in the area. Have either of them said anything as to who they might be?" asked D'Angelo.

"Not really. Each of them partially regained consciousness for a short time and mumbled a couple of names, but between the physical and emotional trauma they received, combined with the meds we've got them loaded up with, I have doubts about the accuracy of what they said." Norman replied.

"What _were_ the names they gave?" asked D'Angelo.

"Alice Munro and Uncas."

_"Uncas?_ What the hell kind of a name is that?" asked Porter.

"It's Mohican. The young man is definitely an American Indian and it's possible he has a traditional name, but….we'll see what we can find out after they fully regain consciousness. Dr. Spencer and I will keep you posted on what we find out." said Norman.

"And we'll do likewise." Det. D'Angelo offered.

"What I can't understand is how either of them survived the fall from that cliff! If there hadn't been eyewitnesses to it, I wouldn't have believed it!" said Det. Porter.

"What exactly happened out there anyway?" asked Richard.

"Well, apparently four hikers were making their way along a trail that runs along the base of Promontory Point. They were still quite a ways off when they heard a man cry out in pain. When they looked up toward where the sound came from, they saw our boy plummeting down off the cliff up there on the Point. Then the girl backed up to the edge as though she were trying to get away from somebody. Less than a minute later, she pitched herself off the edge and fell down to where the guy landed. She must have figured her boyfriend was dead and attempted suicide rather than face whatever the attacker had in mind for her. After she fell, the hikers saw a guy peek over the edge of that cliff and then took off." explained Det. D'Angelo.

"We're positive whoever did this is the same guy who's been attacking people in the park for the past three months." added Porter.

"I've heard about this on the news. How many people has he attacked so far?" asked Norman.

"Including these two kids? Nine, but this latest one was by far the most brutal. The State Police, along with several other law enforcement agencies have put together an all-out manhunt for this guy. There was quite a bit of blood up on the cliff where the fight must have taken place between the two men. Our CSI unit found a clear set of bloody footprints on the rocks up there leading away from the scene. The suspect must have stepped in the blood when he was fleeing the area. We've got search teams combing the entire park by ground _and_ air, along with roadblocks on all major roads and highways in the area. Don't worry, Doc, we're gonna find this bastard. He's not gonna to be able to hide anymore." Porter stated confidently.

"We're think we're pretty close to finding him too. One of the search teams located a cave that the suspect has been living in. His tracks led straight to it and then went off into the woods again. It seems he liked to collect souvenirs from each of his victims, which we found inside the cave. Based on statements given by the other victims at the time of their attacks, we were able to match all of the items found to what they claim the guy took from them…..except for these. We think they might belong to these two." said D'Angelo, who removed three clear plastic evidence bags from a briefcase he'd been holding as his partner stepped away to answer his cell phone. Holding the bags in front of him, he allowed the two physicians to read the covers of the books inside of them.

"The Siege of Fort William Henry', 'The History and Culture of the Mohican People' and 'An Actor's Guide to Playing Historic Roles'." said Norman as he read the titles of the books out loud, then turned to look at Richard who was shaking his head in dismay.

_"Frank!"_ Porter called out to his partner as he hurried back over to the group. "That was Jamison that just called. He said they got the guy in custody. We gotta go!"

"See if you can find out anything more from our victims. Porter and I will be back later to try and get statements and fingerprints from them." said D'Angelo as he put the books back inside the briefcase and hurried after his partner.

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Norman and Richard watched the two detectives sprint toward the exit doors of the ICU. After they'd gone, the two doctors shared a resigned look with each other.

"Looks like you might be right, Norman." said Richard.

"Yeah. For the sake of that young couple, I wish the hell I wasn't." replied the other man, who dreaded what he had to do next.

"I'm going to call the Psychiatric Department and have them send somebody down here."

* * *

**Author's Note: **What if you were knocked unconscious and when you woke up, the world and the people in it resembled nothing you had ever seen before, and although you know who you are, you have no memory of how you came to be there. What's worse, the people in this strange place have no idea who _you_ are either….and they don't believe you when you tell them! That is what has just happened to Uncas and Alice.

While you may think this story resembles a previous one that I've written, I assure you it will be _nothing_ like it. It is not a fantasy about being given another chance at life. It is about what happens when two people wake up from one nightmare, only to find they have somehow been thrust into a new one that is worse than anything they could possibly have imagined. How will they react to this situation and how will everyone _else_ react to _them?_ Are Alice and Uncas who they say they are? Or aren't they? Please join me as we find out! MohawkWoman :)


	2. Chapter 2: Who Are You?

***Disclaimer: I am not an expert in the field of Psychiatry and I make no claims to accuracy in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Who Are You?**

"Dr. Harris?"

Looking up at the woman standing on the other side of the nurse's station, Norman put down the chart he was reading and smiled as he stood up and came around to the outside of the counter to greet her. A pretty woman with medium length blond hair and blue eyes, he recalled seeing her every now and again around the hospital, mostly in the cafeteria or getting on and off an elevator.

"I'm Dr. Norman Harris. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Dr. Cora Van Houten. I'm a staff psychiatrist here at the hospital. We spoke on the phone earlier."

"Ah, yes doctor, I'm glad you could come so quickly." said Norman.

"Not a problem. You said you and Dr. Spencer have two related trauma patients who are exhibiting similar Post Traumatic Stress symptoms?" asked Cora.

"Well, since this is your area of expertise, I'll leave the diagnosis to you. Let me fill you in on what we know so far." replied Norman as he gestured Cora over to the doorway of Uncas' room. Standing in the doorway, the two looked in at the sleeping patient while Norman continued.

"He looks like he's been through hell." observed Cora.

"He has. Early this morning a group of hikers in Promontory State Park witnessed this young man falling from the cliff on the Promontory. A minute or two later, his female companion, who's in the next room, threw herself off the edge as well. Another man was seen looking down from the cliff to where the two fell before he took off into the forest. The state police believe they are both victims of the man who's been attacking people in the park based on evidence they found at the scene."

_"Wait_ a minute! They both _fell_ off of that _cliff?_ And _survived? _That's not_ possible!"_

"Yeah, I know. They should have died on impact. But that's not all….it gets stranger still. The hikers rushed over to where our victims fell and found him lying on his back." said Norman with a nod of his head toward Uncas. "He was bleeding profusely from multiple stab wounds which they applied pressure to until the rescue team arrived to take over. Every bone in his body should have been broken from the fall, including his skull and his spine, and he should have sustained massive internal injuries as well, but _no!_ Other than the stab wounds, the only other injuries he has are two broken ribs, a concussion and some bruises on his forehead. The same goes for the young woman. She landed face down right beside him and was found with her hand on his shoulder. One of the hikers said in their statement that the way they found her lying there looked as though she had reached out to him just before she landed. She should have suffered the same traumatic injuries _he_ should have, but all _she_ has are some bruises on her forehead and cheek, a concussion and a sprained wrist and ankle. These two should not have survived a fall like that, and _he _should have died from the blood loss alone. But for both of them to have only sustained the few relatively minor injuries from a fall like that? I don't have a medical explanation for it!"

"It's impossible." whispered Cora as she look at Uncas. "How bad _are_ his stab wounds?"

"They're the worst I've seen. The attacker sliced him open across his lower chest. His ribs prevented the blade from penetrating deep enough to disembowel him, which I have a feeling was the attacker's intention. In addition, he has two deep penetration wounds in his lower left side and back, and another deep penetration wound in his right shoulder. He also has a shallow cut on his neck, as though his throat was about to be cut, but for some reason wasn't. His attacker was definitely trying to kill him and the minor defensive wounds on him indicate he was putting up a pretty damn good fight with his own weapon."

"What kind of weapon?"

"A tomahawk." Norman replied, which earned him a raise eyebrow. "He was still holding it when they found him. He had a knife as well, but it was still sheathed in his belt."

"What's his prognosis?"

"He'll pull through, but between the stab wounds and the near fatal blood loss, it's going to take him a while to regain his strength and get back on his feet again. But now we get to the bizarre part. When they were brought in here, both of them were dressed in 18th century colonial American clothing." said Norman.

"What? _Colonial_ clothing?"

"That's right. She had on a long skirt, with a mid-sleeved button front top and a chemise underneath, complete with all of the various layers of undergarments….including a corset! She even had on period stockings and boots."

"A corset?" asked a puzzled Cora.

"Wait'll you hear what_ he_ was wearing." said Norman with another nod toward Uncas.

"I can hardly wait."

"He was dressed the way the northeastern Indians dressed in the 18th century, with a colonial style calico shirt, moccasins, buckskin leggings that reached the tops of his thighs….and a loincloth."

"A loincloth?"

"Yeah. He also has tattoos that were applied in the old style, by scraping the pattern into the skin with a sharp object and rubbing charcoal into it, and it wasn't done recently either….he's had them a while."

"Well that explains the tomahawk. Why were they out in the middle of nowhere in a state park dressed like that?" Cora asked, still trying to make sense of what she was hearing.

"I don't know. Historical reenactors maybe, or actors rehearsing for a production of some kind? That's my theory anyway. The police found where the attacker has been living in the park and he had a collection of souvenirs he'd taken from each of his victims. The only items they couldn't match up to anyone were three books, one about the siege of Fort William Henry, another one about the Mohican Indians and a guide book for actors playing historic roles. The police think the books belonged to him and the girl, and judging from the way they were dressed I tend to agree."

"Do we know who they are?" asked Cora.

"Not really and that's why I called someone with your expertise. When our boy there regained consciousness, I was expecting him to be a bit disoriented and to possibly get a bit combative until he recognized where he was. But when he _did _come around, he went way beyond being disoriented….he completely freaked out. I've never seen anyone react like that and I'll never forget the look on his face. He was absolutely _terrified!_ I mean, the way he looked around the room and the way he looked at us before he lost it…it was like he'd never seen the inside of a hospital or any medical equipment before and had no _idea_ what we were doing to him. And when he became combative, it was as though he was fighting for his life. It took_ six_ of us to hold him down while someone else sedated him." explained Norman.

"I've never heard of anyone reacting that violently either. Did he say anything?"

"He kept shouting at us to get away from him and then he started screaming over and over for someone named Alice. Which brings us to the next part of the puzzle. After we sedated him and I made sure his wounds hadn't reopened, I went to see how the young woman was doing. Dr. Spencer was with her and he told me she had partially regained consciousness just before I came in. She didn't open her eyes but she mumbled a name several times. He asked her if she could hear him and she answered yes. So then he asked her what her name was and she said it was Alice Munro. Then she started asking for someone by that other name she'd been mumbling."

"What name was that?"

"Uncas."

_"Uncas? _And she said her name was Alice Munro?" asked a dumbfounded Cora, who could not quite believe she'd heard the names correctly.

"That's right. When Dr. Spencer asked if Uncas was the name of her friend, she said yes. Then she started calling to Uncas, saying she loved him."

"Oh my god." whispered a stunned Cora.

"I recently read a copy of a diary written by a woman named Cora Munro who was the daughter of the colonel at Fort William Henry during the French an…."

"You don't need to tell me about the diary, Dr. Harris." Cora said with a raised hand as she cut Norman off in mid sentence. "I'm very familiar with it. It's an old family heirloom that my father recently inherited from my late grandmother, who published the book you read. You see, I am a direct descendant of Cora Munro and her husband, Nathaniel Poe. They were my great grandparents about nine times removed, and my father named me after her."

"Then you know all about Cora Munro's sister, Alice, and Nathaniel's brother, Uncas."

"I'm very familiar with them. Now I'm even _more_ curious about our two mystery patients. I'd like to see the girl now. Hopefully she's awake so that I can talk t….." Hearing low moaning coming from inside the room whose doorway they were standing in, Cora and Norman turned in time to see Uncas slowly moving his head from side to side as he tried to open his eyes.

"Unnnnh…uhhhhh…"

_"Jeez!_ I can't_ believe_ he's coming _around_ already." Norman said in amazement. "That sedative should have kept him knocked out till morning. He's _really_ fighting us."

"Let's see if we can get him to tell us his name." suggested Cora as they moved to Uncas' bedside.

"Hey buddy! How ya feeling?" Norman asked with a smile as he gave Uncas a reassuring pat on his arm in an attempt to keep his patient calm.

Feeling extremely sleepy, a bleary-eyed Uncas fought to stay awake and managed to bring his vision into focus on his two visitors who were leaning over him. Momentarily confused until he remembered waking up in this same room earlier, he recognized the man from before but did not recognize the woman.

"Wh….where am….where am I?" he finally managed to ask in a weak voice.

"You're in the hospital. You've been very badly wounded. I'm Dr. Harris and this is Dr. Van Houten. We're not gonna hurt you, buddy, we're here to take care of you." Norman assured him when he saw the confusion on Uncas' face and became concerned that he might become combative again.

"Ha.…hos..pital? Whazz a…?"

"It's like a surgery, only bigger." said Cora, taking a chance he would understand what a surgery was since the "real" Uncas had been treated in one at the fort. Seeing him relax a bit after that, Norman decided to try asking him some questions.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Uncas..."

"What's your last name?"

"My whaa…?" Uncas replied with a confused look on his face.

"What's your surname?" tried Cora.

"No….udder name….jusss Uncazzz….."

"He's starting to drift off again." Norman said softly to Cora. Tapping Uncas on the side of his face, he tried to keep him from falling back to sleep.

_"Uncas!_ _Hey! _Come on, buddy! I know your sleepy, but try to stay awake just a little bit longer, ok? Do you have any family?"

"Uhh?...fatherrr….an..brotherrr…" was the groggy reply.

"We'd like to contact them and let them know you're here. What's your father's name?"

Swallowing hard and breathing a little faster, Uncas tried hard to get the names out, anxious for his family to come and get him out of this strange place.

"Chi….Chin…gach..gook"

"And your brother's name?" asked Norman as he and Cora gave each other a quick side glance.

"Natha…..Nathan…iel.

"Uncas? Can you tell me what day it is?" Cora quickly asked him, knowing he was not going to remain conscious for much longer.

"Day?...dun-no day….Green…Corn Moon…..Augguss….early…"

"What year is it?" she asked.

"Sev-venteen…fifty….sev-ven…Gotta fine Alizzz….Help…me fine…hrrr…" Uncas managed to get out before the battle to stay awake became too great. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, his head tilted slightly to the right as he sunk back into a deep, drug induced sleep.

Straightening up, Norman took a deep breath and blew it out through his mouth as he and Cora stepped out into the hall. Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked at Cora who was leaning against the wall and staring into space at some fixed point on the floor.

"I can see why you called upstairs and requested someone come down to have a look at them. And I'm glad _I'm_ the one who came. Since you read the diary, I presume you know that Chingachgook was Uncas' father." Cora finally said.

"Yeah." replied Norman.

"I'd _really_ like to see the girl now."

* * *

Gradually coming awake, Alice snuggled into the comfortable bed and thought for a moment that she was home in her room in Portman Square until she remembered she had let herself drop off the edge of the cliff to die with Uncas. Confused, she opened her eyes and became even more bewildered when she saw the acoustic ceiling tiles overhead. As her gaze wandered around the strange room, taking in the railing on the bed and the various equipment that was standard in each ICU room, she felt her initial confusion rapidly turn into panic and fear. Sitting bolt upright in the bed, she stared at her surroundings. Where was she? What kind of a place was this? There was no place even in a city as modern as London that remotely resembled anything such as this!

Suddenly aware that her clothing felt different, Alice looked downward and saw that she was wearing some sort of odd dress with sleeves that barely went below her shoulders and was made of a white cotton material with tiny little diamond patterns on it. Feeling a slight coolness on her back, she reached behind her and discovered much to her surprise, that the back of the dress was open, secured only by a tie at the base of her neck and another mid-way down. What's more, she was naked underneath it! Where were her clothes? Who had undressed her and put her in this strange garment? Whoever it was must have found her lying at the base of the cliff. Where did they bring her to? And where was Uncas? What had they done with him? Did they leave him out there or did they bury him somewhere?

"Uncas? _Uncas! UNCAS! UNCAS….."_

"Alice! Calm down. It's alright, everything is ok!" said Cora as she, Richard and Norman each rushed into her room.

Startled to see two men and a woman running to her bedside, Alice tried to escape by climbing over the railing, and it was then she noticed the immobilizing braces on her lower right leg and wrist, and the IV in her left hand. Perplexed by the braces and the IV, she paused to look at them which gave the three doctors time to get on either side of her in order to prevent her from getting out of the bed.

"Alice, relax. No one here is going to hurt you. Everything's going to be ok." said Cora in a very calm and soothing tone.

Frantically shooting looks back and forth from each of the three people standing beside her to the other people who had gathered outside her door and the large window that looked into her room from the hallway, Alice retreated to the center of the bed and swatted away the hands that reached out to try and calm her.

_"No! No! Leave me alone! Get away from me! Who are you? What do you want? Where's Uncas? What have you done with him?"_

"Alice, please, calm down! We're not going to hurt you! We're _doctors,_ we're here to _help_ you." said Cora in a second attempt to calm her.

"D…doctors?" asked Alice, her voice soft and cracking with emotion as she began to cry.

"Yes. You're in a hospital. You were brought here after you fell. Do you remember falling?" asked Cora.

"Yes…I….I remember. Th..this is a…a hospital? Where? I don't….th…there was no place like…like this…"

_"Don't_ worry about where you are. What matters is that you are safe, with people who care about you and who are taking good care of you." Seeing Alice looking again at the braces and the IV, Cora explained to her what they were.

"When you fell, you injured your ankle and wrist. These are a kind of splint called a brace. You'll only have to wear them for a few weeks until your injuries heal."

"What is _this_ for?" Alice asked, trembling as she held up the hand containing the IV.

"It's a way for us to give you the medicine you need. Dr. Spencer will probably remove it either today or tomorrow. Isn't that right, Dr. Spencer." said Cora, gesturing toward Richard who in turn smiled and nodded to Alice.

Sensing she was not in any danger, Alice began to relax a little and suddenly all of the tragic events of the past week flashed through her mind, beginning with the Huron attack on the George Road and culminating with Uncas' death at the hands of Magua, and an overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness for him engulfed her.

"Oh god, he's dead…" she managed to say before finally bursting into tears of grief for her lost love.

"Who's dead?" asked Cora.

"Uncas….I wanted to die with him…..why didn't you let me die with him?...I can't live without him and I don't want to….."

_"Alice._ _Alice_, listen to me. _Listen_ to me!" said Cora as she took hold of Alice's shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. "Uncas is _not_ dead! He's _alive!_ He's _not_ dead!"

"Wha….wha…..he….he's alive?"

_"Yes!_ He's in the room right next to yours."

"I want to see him. _I want to see him!_ _Please….please let me see him! I want to see him! Uncas! UNCAS…!_

_"Alright!_ Alright! We'll take you to see him, but you have to calm down first, ok? Come on, calm down. That's it now. Shhh…" Cora said softly as she soothingly rubbed Alice's arm. Once her patient had begun to relax, she turned to address Richard.

"Dr. Spencer, can we have a wheelchair brought in here please?"

* * *

Gripping the arms of the wheelchair, Alice cast frightened glances around the hallway as Cora pushed her out of her room. Once in the hallway however, she focused her full attention on the doorway to the next room over and craned her neck to the side to try and see inside as she was rolled closer to it. Upon entering the room, she let out a gasp when she saw Uncas lying unconscious in the bed with a sheet and blanket covering him up to his waist. After her wheelchair had been pushed to his bedside, she looked at the bandages on his body and all of the various medical equipment attached to him and felt a new fear growing within her, along with a strong need to protect him. Rising from the chair after Norman lowered the bed railing on her side, she balanced herself on her good leg and placed her hands on the mattress as the doctor held her by the arm and shoulder to help support her.

"What is all of this? What are you doing to him? _ Don't you hurt him!" _she said defensively, yet with a hint of the fear she felt evident in her tone as well.

"We're not hurting him, Alice." Norman said gently. "We just fought very hard to save his life. The last thing we want to do is hurt him."

"Then what is all of this?" she asked, frantically waving her hand back and forth as she gestured at the equipment.

"Uncas suffered very serious knife wounds and lost a great deal of blood. I've treated his wounds and all of this is the medical equipment needed to help him recover and to help me monitor his condition. See? He has an IV in his hand, giving him medicine just like yours is giving you. And this here?" explained Norman as he indicated the nasal cannula under Uncas' nose. "This is blowing air into his nose to help him breathe. Here, hold your fingers right here. Feel that?" Norman asked as he moved the cannula so that Alice could feel the air coming out of it.

"Yes, I feel it." she replied as Norman repositioned the breathing device on his patient's face. Looking up at the IV bags, her eyes grew wide as she pointed toward one of them.

"Is that blood?"

"Yes, it is. As I said he lost a great deal of his own, so we're giving him some back to replace it while his body produces more."

"Where did the blood come from?" she asked, fearful of what the source might have been.

"From caring people who voluntarily donate some of their own to help other people in need, like Uncas." he explained.

"I want to give him my blood! I want you to take all that he needs!" she resolutely stated.

"Um….That's…very generous of you, Alice, but we've given him quite a bit already. Once this bag is empty it should be enough…but if not we'll keep you in mind." replied Norman, who was touched by the innocence in her offer to help.

Looking at the man she loved lying motionless in the bed, she took note of his injuries, from the bruises on the right side of his forehead to the bandages taped to his right shoulder, lower chest and his left side at the base of his ribs. Leaning slightly forward, she could just make out part of another bandage attached to the back of his left side. Reaching out her hand, she began to caress his cheek.

"What is that noise?" she softly asked.

"What noise? Oh, you mean that beeping sound?"

"Yes."

"That's the heart monitor. It makes that noise each time his heart beats. That's what those four round white patches attached to his chest are for. They detect the sound of his heartbeat and the wires relay the sound over to that monitor." explained the doctor as he pointed to the black screened device. "Then the monitor takes that sound and displays it in the form of that bouncing green line." he added, indicating the top line on the monitor screen.

"That's what his heartbeat looks like?" she whispered as she watched the screen in awe.

"Yes, that's what it looks like. If the noise bothers you I can turn the volume off and make the beeping sound stop."

_"No!_ No, I need to hear it. I need to know he's alive." she replied.

"Ok." Norman said with an understanding smile.

Brushing a finger across Uncas' lips, she mustered up the courage to ask a question she was afraid to hear the answer to.

"Doctor?" she asked in a voice so faint it was barely above a whisper.

"Yes, Alice?"

"Will he be alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, your boyfriend's going to be just fine. He's a _very_ lucky young man to have survived an attack like that. Those knife wounds should have killed him, never mind the fall from that cliff. I'm surprised either _one_ of you survived that! It's a good thing those hikers came along when they did and found the two of you, otherwise…." the doctor said, letting his voice trail off.

"He's so still." Alice whispered as she continued to caress Uncas' face.

"That's because we had to sedate him."

"Sedate him? What does that mean?"

"We gave him some medicine to make him sleep. About an hour or so ago he regained consciousness and, just like you, he was very scared when he saw where he was, so we gave him that medicine to calm him down and make him sleep."

_"Uncas is not afraid of anything!"_ Alice stated firmly while looking the doctor straight in the eye. "He is a brave warrior who willingly faced an entire Huron war party single handed and killed nearly half of them before he was struck down himself."

"I didn't mean to offend you or insult him, Alice. I apologize. I only meant that he was confused as to where he was." replied Norman, whose words seemed to placate her.

"Alice? Can you tell me what the date is today?" Cora casually asked her.

"The date? Well…I remember it was the tenth day of August when we evacuated the fort….but then the Huron attacked and we hid….but they found us and made us walk all night to their village which we arrived in the next morning. That's when they took me away and Uncas came to rescue me…." Stopping when her voice caught in her throat, Alice began to stroke Uncas' hair while she composed herself before continuing.

"Um...so that would make today August the eleventh."

"Of what year?" asked Cora.

"Why 1757 of course! Why are you asking me the date and what year it is? Don't you know it?" demanded Alice, who was growing suspicious of why this strange woman was asking her such a question at a time like this.

"I was just trying to establish how long you and Uncas were out in the wilderness before we found you. That's all." Cora explained to Alice, who slowly turned her mistrustful gaze away from the psychiatrist and back to Uncas again.

"We're going to take you back to your room now." said Richard. "It's going to be a while yet before Uncas wakes up from that sedative. In fact, he'll probably sleep through the night. When he does wake up I'll have someone bring you back here so you can visit with him again."

_"NO! _No, I will _not _leave him!I want to_ stay _with him._ Please! He's all I have left! _Please don't take me away from him! _I won't go!" _cried Alice as she flung herself on top of Uncas and hugged his shoulders while pressing her face against his.

"Hey, hey, careful now! Watch out for his shoulder, ok? And don't put any weight on his chest. He's got two broken ribs right here, not to mention that knife wound." cautioned Norman as he tried to pull Alice off of his patient.

_"I WON'T LEAVE HIM!" _she shouted defiantly as she roughly pushed Norman away before clinging to Uncas again.

"It's alright, Alice. No one is going to make you leave Uncas, I promise. I _promise!"_ said Cora, who received another suspicious look from the young woman in return. "You stay with him while I talk to both of your doctors for a moment, alright? Gentlemen, a word please?"

Moving over to the doorway, Cora waited for Norman and Richard to join her.

"I think it would be in everyone's best interest if we allow Alice to stay in the same room with Uncas." she told them.

"What? We can't do that! That's against hospital policy. The director would have our heads on a platter!" said an incredulous Richard.

"Sometimes men and women have been allowed to share the same room." replied Cora.

"Yes, but only if they're related. These two are not." argued Richard.

"We don't know that. At this point we have no _idea_ what the true relationship is between them. They may just be casual acquaintances, they may be dating, they may be lovers, they may even be _married_ for all we know. But there is one thing I _do_ know for a fact and that is if we _don't_ allow them share the same room, we'll most likely have to keep the _both_ of them in a constant state of sedation in order to keep them calm."

"She's got a point, Richard." conceded Norman as he rubbed his tired eyes. "You saw yourself how upset she became just now, not to mention the state she was in before we brought her to see him. And I saw firsthand what _he's_ like when _he's_ upset and let me tell you, it's not something I ever want to see happen again. I wouldn't even put it past him to try and get out of bed in order to go looking for her….and I know _she'll_ try to go to _him_ every chance she gets."

"Yeah, you're right." Richard replied with a resigned sigh. "So what are we gonna do about the director?"

"Don't worry about Henderson. I'll talk to him and explain the situation." said Cora. "Now, let's get her settled into the room with Uncas. Which leads me to another thing. I want _everyone_ to address them _as_ Alice and Uncas and to continue to do so even after we positively identify them. By doing so it will help to establish trust with them and lessen the confusion they are experiencing, which will undoubtedly increase as they become more exposed to their surroundings. Oh, and one more thing. I want the window blinds kept closed on any room they are in. Since they believe it's the year 1757, I don't want them to know the truth until I feel they are able to handle it. We need to proceed in baby steps with these two."

"We can't hide the world from them forever." said Norman.

"No, but we can introduce them to it gradually. As I work with them, I hope to discover information that I can use to help break through the protective wall they've mentally built around themselves and get them to remember who they really are. And both of you can be instrumental in helping me to gather that information." she said.

"What would you like us to do?" asked Richard.

"Just talk to them as though they are who they say they are and listen for any inconsistencies in timeframes, such as either of them mentioning something pertaining to the twenty first century instead of the eighteenth century. Things like that. And since they may be actors of some sort, you can also try casually talking to them about things like historical reenactments that have or will take place, or maybe even about movies or plays. Even if they are steadfast about hiding behind these assumed identities, something will eventually spark a memory and trigger them to make a slip."

"We'll help in any way we can, Dr. Van Houten." Norman offered.

"Please, call me Cora. Since the three of us will be working so closely with these two, I think being on a first name basis with each other is in order."

"Then Cora it is! And you can call me Norman…just don't shorten it to Norm. I prefer the full length version." he said with a warm smile that caused Richard to look away with an amused look of his own.

"Agreed!" she warmly replied in turn. Looking back into the room, Cora watched as Alice stroked Uncas' hair while softly humming a nameless tune to him.

"I think we have our work cut out for us, gentlemen."

* * *

"Now, remember young lady, I want you to stay in bed. No wandering around the room, understood?"

"Yes, Dr. Spencer." replied a visibly tired Alice, who then covered her mouth as she gave a big yawn.

"And no touching any of the medical equipment, either." added Norman. "All of this is _very_ important to Uncas' health and recovery. If you care about him and want him to get better, you must_ not_ touch _anything,_ ok?"

"I won't touch a thing, Dr. Harris. I promise! I love Uncas and I want him to get well again. I don't want to do anything that could hurt him."

"Good!" replied Norman with a smile. "Now remember, if you need anything just press that button right there on the railing and a nurse will come in to help you."

"I will. Thank you for saving Uncas, Dr. Harris."

"My pleasure!"

"Try to get some rest now, Alice." said Cora. "And don't worry about Uncas. He's going to be fine."

"I'll try not to." replied Alice as Cora smiled and turned to walk away. "Dr. Van Houten? Thank you….for everything."

"You're very welcome, Alice. I'll come back later to see how you're doing. Now, it's late…get some sleep."

Stepping out into the hallway, the three doctors stood in a group just outside the door. Glancing in the window to the room, Cora observed Alice blowing Uncas a kiss and mouthing what appeared to be 'I love you' before pulling the blanket up around her shoulders and closing her eyes.

"Ohhh my golly!" said Richard as he gave a big stretch. "You're right, Cora, it _is_ late and sleep sounds like a wonderful idea. I'm gonna go home and get some. I'll see you both in the morning."

Bidding the man goodnight as he walked away, Cora and Norman remained in the hallway.

"How about you? Calling it a night?" asked Norman.

"Yes and no. I'm going to sleep here in my office tonight….just in case." she said, with a nod toward her patients.

"That's not a bad idea. I think I'll camp out in mine as well. I don't expect Uncas to wake up again until morning, but…I'm learning to expect the unexpected with him. Cora….listen um….there's something unusual about him that I didn't tell you earlier when we were discussing his condition."

"What is it?"

"Well…in addition to the knife wounds I told you about…..he has another one that's a bit…..different."

"Different how?"

"The wound on the front of his lower left side was not a fresh one. It was older, by at least several days. It was _also_ caused by a blade of some sort, but it's not consistent with a typical knife wound. It was more like it had been done with a bayonet."

"A bayonet? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. When I was in med school, I saw photos of various bayonet wounds suffered by soldiers during World War II and his is typical of the type that occurred when a jab was deflected and the blade sliced the victim instead of stabbing him." Norman explained.

"Since you read Cora Munro's diary, I assume you know that Uncas was wounded by a bayonet during a skirmish with the French when they arrived at the fort, and that she tended to his wound and applied the stitches." Cora asked.

"Yeah, I do. That's one of the reasons I mentioned it. There's more. The wound had been stitched closed….with old fashioned catgut."

"What?" replied Cora, who looked at Norman for a moment with complete astonishment.

"Yeah, and it's not the modern kind of catgut we use today. This stuff is primitive. But I'll tell you, whoever it was that stitched him up really knew what they were doing. He'll hardly have much of a scar. Whoever sewed him up did a fine job, to the point that I left the wound alone and just swabbed it a little to clean it before redressing it. That's another thing. He had a bandage wrapped around his waist to cover the wound. The bandage was made of silk….old style silk, not like anything you could easily buy today. It was saturated with blood from his other wounds, but despite hazmat protocol I saved it and washed it out. I know an antique dealer who specializes in textiles. First chance I get I'm going to take it to her and see if she can date it for me. I'll let you know what I find out."

"Thank you, Norman." Cora replied somewhat numbly as she tried to process this new information.

"Hey! You look beat and so am I. He's still sleeping off that sedative I gave him earlier and it looks like the mild one we gave her has kicked in. Hopefully they'll both sleep through the night. Why don't we take advantage of that and get some z's ourselves. I got a feeling we're going to need all the rest we can get for tomorrow."

"You're right. Goodnight Norman."

"Goodnight." he replied with a smile before walking away.

Watching his retreating back as he headed for the exit doors of the ICU, Cora was just about to leave the unit herself when she stopped. Stepping over to the window of Uncas and Alice's room, she looked at the young couple sleeping soundly inside of it.

"Who are you?" she whispered.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This is only the beginning of what lies ahead for Uncas and Alice as the doctors try to solve the baffling mystery of who their patients are. So much more awaits them. I would like to thank everyone for reading this story and for the reviews you gave and the response to it. I am so glad you are enjoying it! Chapter 2 is in the works and will be posted soon. Thanks again everyone! MohawkWoman :)


	3. Chapter 3: All Roads Lead to Nowhere

**Chapter 3: All Roads Lead to Nowhere **

Settling in for the night after a long but good day of hunting, Uncas laid down on the bed he'd just finished making for himself. Taking advantage of the soft floor of the forest, he had loosened the top layer of soil and spread a thick layer of leaves on top of it, then laid his blanket on top of that, creating a bed that was so soft it was like lying on one made of feathers. With his brother, Nathaniel, lying beside him and his father, Chingachgook, taking his customary first turn at keeping the night watch, Uncas closed his eyes and immediately relaxed with a slight smile on his face as a feeling of contentment filled him.

Wanting to get even more comfortable as he began to doze off, he shifted positions and started to turn onto his right side, but the movement caused a sharp searing pain to shoot through his entire body and made him cry out. Coming fully awake as a result of that pain, he realized he'd been dreaming after his eyes shot open and he saw with disappointment that he was still in the hospital room and not in the forest as he had thought. With the incessant beeping sound stirring a hazy recollection of the two previous times he'd woken up in this same room, Uncas rolled onto his back again and immediately squinted his eyes shut while groaning through clenched teeth as the pain intensified from the additional movement.

"Uncas?"

Waking from a nightmare in which she was reliving the events on the cliff, Alice sat bolt upright in her bed and called out Uncas' name after hearing him cry out as the blade of Magua's knife plunged deep into his side. Disoriented by the instant transition from wilderness to hospital room, she stared at the wall across from her bed as recognition came back to her and she remembered where she was. Hearing a second groan, she spun to her right and saw Uncas lying in the bed next to hers, moving around with his face contorted in a grimace of pain. Unable to get up the usual way due to the side rails being raised, she slid down to the bottom of the bed and scooted over the footboard. Limping over to him as fast as the brace on her lower right leg would allow, she took his hand in hers and rubbed his forehead and hair with her other hand.

"Uncas? Uncas, can you hear me? Oh god, something's wrong_….something's wrong! Uncas_?" she frantically cried as she worked herself into a panic.

Hearing her voice, a voice that was like music to his ears, Uncas opened his eyes once more and looked up at the woman he thought he would never see again. Breathing in short, rapid breathes as the pain gradually subsided, a pleasantly surprised expression came over his face.

"Alice?" he asked in a voice that was hoarse and weak.

_"Uncas!_ Are you alright? Is something wrong, do…do you need the doctor? Something _is_ wrong, isn't it! I'm going to get him. I'm going to get the doc….."

"No, no…I…I'm alright." he stammered in amazement as he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving while a smile lit up his face. "I'm fine….really, I….I just moved…and it hurt, I…..Alice, how did you _get_ here?"

"I don't know. I remember being up on the cliff, watching you fight Magua. I saw what he did to you….and I saw him push you off the edge." Alice told him as tears began to run down her cheeks. Pausing for a moment after her voice began to break, she began to caress his cheek.

"I thought you were dead…..so I jumped."

"Wha..? Y...you _jumped?"_ he asked, stunned by her revelation and noticing her bruises and the wrist brace for the first time.

"Alice, _why?"_

"Because I couldn't bear the thought of a life without you."

"This isn't what I thought the great council fire of my ancestors would look like. Are we dead?" he asked.

"No. We are still very much alive." she replied with smile as she continued to run her fingers over his hair.

"Then if we're not dead….where _are_ we?" Uncas asked as he took a closer look at his surroundings.

"It's a hospital of some sort, at least that's what they told me. Only I've never seen _any_ place like _this_ before."

"How did we get here?" he asked, wincing as he shifted his position slightly.

"I don't know." she replied while trying to help him get comfortable. "I remember falling…and everything going black when I landed beside to you. The next thing I remember is waking up in another room just like this one. There were people there, two men and a woman. They told me you were alive and they took me to see you. They let me stay with you for a while until the two men said I had to go back to my own room. I didn't want to leave you, Uncas, and I refused to go but they insisted. That's when the woman took the men aside and talked to them. I couldn't hear what was being said, but when they came back they said I could stay here with you."

"I remember waking up a couple of times and each time I saw an older man with light brown hair that was turning grey. Was he one of the two men that you saw?"

"Yes, that's Dr. Harris. He's the one taking care of you. The other man, Dr. Spencer, is looking after me. The woman is called Dr. Van Houten, but I don't know if she's your doctor or mine. Whoever she is, she seems to have some influence over both of our doctors because they seem to do what she tells them to. What do _you_ remember?" she asked.

"Just like you, I remember the fight…and falling…and everything going dark. Then I remember hearing voices and when I opened my eyes, the one you called Dr. Harris was standing beside me asking me how I was doing. There was another man there, and a woman, but they were a lot younger than he was and where doing whatever he told them to."

"I don't know who _they_ were. There are a lot of people here. I've seen them out in the hallway." said Alice. "Dr. Van Houten and Dr. Spencer look to be about the same age as Dr. Harris."

"What's blowing in my nose?"

"The doctor said it's something to help you breathe. Does it help?"

"Yeah, it does. When I woke up before, I had all these strange vines attached to me and….." Stopping in mid sentence as he raised his left hand to touch the nasal cannula, Uncas' eyes grew wide when he saw the IV in his hand.

"They're still _on _me!" he said, becoming even more afraid when he saw the electrodes on his chest were still there as well.

"It's alright, Uncas. This is how they are giving you medicine." Alice explained, indicating the IV. "I had one in my hand too when I first woke up. It's gone now. They must have removed it when I was asleep."

"Are these for medicine too?" he asked, indicating the electrodes. "And what's that noise? I wish it would stop."

_"Don't say that!" _cried Alice. "Don't_ ever _say that! If the noise stops it'll mean you're dead!"

"What are you talking about?"

"These patches on your chest are somehow sending the sound of your heartbeat over to that box, which then makes that noise you hear. And that bouncing green line on the top? That's what your heartbeat looks like. Dr. Harris said this is a way for him to make sure you're alright." said Alice.

"It's doing _what?_ No…no, I gotta get these things off of me…I'm not gonna let them do this to…."

_"Uncas, stop!"_ cried Alice as she grabbed his hand to prevent him from removing the electrodes. "You have to leave these _on_ you. We don't know how this…this _thing_ works. If you take them off, you might die! You _almost _did already. I saw how badly you were bleeding before you fell….Dr. Harris said the blood loss you suffered should have _killed_ you. I'll admit I've never seen doctors do anything like this before, but if this is what it takes to make you well again, then I want you to let them do everything they can for you…no matter _how_ strange it may be." she said, tenderly brushing his cheek with her hand as he relaxed his own and rested it on the bed.

"And you believe them? You really believe they're trying to help us?"

"Yes, I do. I love you, Uncas! Don't you see? I love you and I want you to get well again. I don't want to lose you. I nearly did already, I don't want that to happen again." she confessed as tears began to spill down her face and dripped onto his left shoulder.

"You're not going to lose me, Alice, and I _do_ see. I love you too. I fell in love with you when I saw how pretty you looked standing by the falls in the river that first day on the trail to the fort. Now stop crying…..you're getting me wet!" he said with a little grin as he looked down at the small puddle of tears that was beginning to accumulate on his shoulder.

Crying and laughing at the same time, Alice wiped the wetness off his shoulder with her hand, then looked into his dark eyes which were warm with the love he had just spoken of. Turning her attention to the bed railing, she ran her hands over the outside of the bottom railing until she located the mechanism to lower it. Pressing on it as she had seen one of the medical staff do the previous night, she lowered the railing and pressed one of the buttons on the upper side rail, which raised the head of the bed. Startled, Uncas furrowed his brow as he watched the bed raise him to a semi-reclined sitting position.

"The _bed's_ moving….what's making it _do_ that?"

"It happens when you press these buttons. This one raises the bed and this one lowers it. And these buttons here do the same to the bottom of the bed. Dr. Spencer showed me how to do this last night so that I could make myself comfortable. I played with it a bit while they were getting me settled in. I must admit, it was rather fun!" Alice said with a tiny giggle as she climbed onto the bed and snuggled up next to Uncas. Laying her head on his left shoulder, she rested her hand on his chest, being careful not to touch his wounds or the electrodes.

Unable to move his right arm above his elbow due to the shoulder wound, Uncas could not hug her like he wanted to, so he put his good arm around Alice and pulled her closer to him. Once her face was near his, he captured her lips with his own and the two shared a long awaited and much needed kiss. Backing away ever so slightly, she rubbed her nose against his before sharing another longer and deeper kiss with him.

_"Ahem!"_

Startled, they immediately stopped kissing and stared at the man who was standing just inside the room with his arms folded across his chest.

_"Well,_ I came in here to see how my patient was doing this morning and I guess I got my answer!" said a grinning Dr. Harris. "It also explains why the heart monitor was speeding up a bit!" he added as he walked over to the bed.

With a smile and a nod, Norman bid good morning to Alice, who cautiously returned the greeting while giving him an uncertain look, afraid that he was going to banish her from the room because of what he caught them doing. Noticing her apprehension and also the protective way that Uncas drew her to him with an unmistakably hostile look in his eyes, he knew he needed to proceed carefully so as not to provoke his patient.

"You were pretty out of it yesterday, so I'm not sure if you remember me. I'm Dr. Norman Harris."

"I remember you." was Uncas' blunt response.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine." Uncas replied, not trusting the man enough to tell him he felt tired, weak and was in a fair amount of pain. Until he knew more about where they were and as to whether these people were friend or foe, he was not about to tell anyone any more than he had to, lest he reveal his weaknesses to them. If it came to a fight, Alice's life and his own would depend on his being able to get the upper hand on them.

"How bad is the pain?" asked Norman.

"I'm not in any pain."

"Look…Uncas. I've got a pretty good idea of how you must be feeling right now, but I need to hear it from you. I know that you were viciously attacked and the last thing you remember is fighting with that person, but _I'm_ not your enemy, ok? I'm a doctor and I'm trying to help you, but you need to work with me in order for me to be able to do that. If I'd wanted to hurt you…or kill you, I could have done so at _any_ time while you were unconscious, but I didn't…did I?"

"No." Uncas replied with some hesitance while casting a dubious look at the IV and the electrodes.

"And we didn't hurt Alice either, did we? She's right here and she's fine. In fact we even broke a whole bunch of rules, just so she could stay in this room with you instead of staying in her own like she was supposed to. Now _that_ has to tell you something, doesn't it?"

"Maybe."

Lowering both railings on the other side of the bed, Norman sat down beside Uncas and rubbed his eyes, then studied his patient for a moment.

"Look…I know all of this must seem pretty strange to you, maybe even scary to some degree. But I need for you to _trust_ me. You were very badly wounded and for a while there, I didn't know if I'd be able to save your life. But you fought hard to survive and I didn't give up on you, so between the two of us we pulled it off. I _want_ you to have a full recovery, but in order for that to happen, you have to be honest with me about how you feel so that I know what you need in order for you to get back on your feet again. Ok?" said Norman.

"O...k? What does that mean?" Uncas asked as he tried to understand the strange word.

"It's another way of saying 'alright'." explained Norman, who noted the quizzical looks that passed between the young couple when they heard the slang term used. "So…will you work with me and tell me the truth about how you're feeling?"

"Please, Uncas. I think we should trust him. I can't explain why, but I do." Alice whispered.

Seeing the scared and worried look on her face and knowing it was because of him and not because of this place they were in, Uncas took a deep breath and let it out with a groan as his broken ribs rebelled because of the movement. Seeing genuine concern on Norman's face when he saw he was in pain, he decided to lower his guard a bit and answer the doctor's questions truthfully since the man obviously knew what condition he was in anyway and seemed sincere in wanting to help him. _And_ he didn't want Alice to worry or be afraid for him anymore.

"Alright….I'll be honest with you."

"Good! Now, let's try again. How are you feeling?" asked Norman, who was happy to have established the beginnings of trust between him and Uncas.

"Tired...and weak."

"You lost a lot of blood, so it's no wonder you feel that way. It's going to take a while for you to get your strength back while those wounds heal. And that sedative we gave you yesterday is probably contributing to your feeling tired, but that should wear off as the day goes on." said Norman.

"Seda-tive? What's that?"

"It's a medicine that puts people to sleep. When you first woke up, you were very confused and you became combative….you started fighting us." Norman explained in response to Uncas' puzzled look at the word 'combative'. "I was afraid you were going to reopen your wounds and start bleeding again, so I had no choice but to calm you down by putting you to sleep."

Recalling the hazy memory of waking up that first time, Uncas remembered the young woman sticking something into his arm while the rest of the people in the room held him down.

"That girl….the one with hair like a horse's tail….is that what she stuck into me? A...seda-tive?"

"Girl with hair like a horse's tail? Oh, you mean Holly! Yes, that was a sedative she gave you. And I think she'd prefer you call her hairstyle a ponytail instead of hair like a horse's tail. Women can be sensitive about their looks!" Norman replied with a wink at Alice. "Now, back to how you're feeling. How much pain are you in?"

"A bit."

"Ok, well, that's kinda vague. Let's try this. On a scale of one to ten, with one being 'I hardly feel anything' to ten being 'oh my god, I can't stand it anymore', what number between one and ten describes how bad your pain is?"

"About six, maybe seven." replied Uncas.

"Hmm, that_ is_ a bit, isn't it? I had a feeling you'd be hurting, so I brought some medication with me just in case. This will make the pain go away." said Norman, who noticed Uncas knew how to count.

"I can handle the pain." replied Uncas, who suspiciously eyed the syringe the doctor removed from the pocket of his white lab coat.

"I'm sure you can….but you shouldn't have to. Relieving your pain will make it easier for you to focus on getting well again instead of how uncomfortable you feel." said Norman as he took hold of Uncas' right arm, which was resting on his abdomen.

_"You're not gonna put me to sleep!"_ Uncas shouted as he pulled his arm away, causing him to wince from the sudden movement.

"This isn't a sedative, Uncas. You might feel a little relaxed after I give it to you, but it's not going to put you to sleep."

Glaring at Norman with a look that clearly said he'd better not be lying, Uncas reluctantly let the doctor take his arm and watched without so much as a flinch as he was given the injection. Seeing Uncas relax from the immediate effects of the pain medication, Norman decided to explore his remembering how to count a bit further, thinking that it might lead to discovering his patient's true identity and enable them to locate his family.

"So, Uncas…where did you go to school?" he casually asked.

"I went to Reverend Wheelock's school with my brother, Nathaniel." Uncas replied as he took hold of Alice's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze to reassure her he was ok after receiving the injection.

_"Ah,_ Reverend Wheelock's school! I hear it's a good place! I forget where it's located, though."

"It's in a settlement called Lebanon in Connecticut colony. Why do you want to know where it is?" asked Uncas, whose suspicions were constantly being renewed as fast as he could set them aside.

"Oh, my brother is looking for a good school to send his kids to and I told him I'd ask around." Norman replied, again trying to sound casual.

"Kids?" asked Uncas.

"It means children. Kids is another name for that."

"Like ok is another name for alright."

"Exactly! Well now, I think I hear the breakfast cart coming down the hallway. Do you feel up to eating something, Uncas?"

"Maybe a little something."

"Good! I'll have Holly come in to help you get set up. Just eat what you can, you don't need to finish everything. The last thing I want is for you to upset your stomach and get sick, so take your time and go easy, ok?"

"Ok." replied Uncas, who decided to use the slang word the doctor seemed to prefer using.

"And you, young lady, need to get back into your _own_ bed. Dr. Spencer will have my hide if he finds out I let you lay here with your boyfriend all this time. Even though you only suffered minor injuries, you still had a nasty fall and you should be resting."

"Please, can't I sit next to Uncas and eat? That way I'll be close by if he needs help, since he can only use one hand. I'm not tired and I feel fine. And I promise I'll lie down afterward. Please, Dr. Harris?" Alice pleaded.

"Why do I get the feeling that if I say no, you'll only pop right out of bed and sit with him anyway? Alright Alice, you can eat your breakfast next to him. But I want you to lie down as soon as you're finished….in your_ own_ bed! Let me move that chair and bed table over here for you. You know, I hope you both realize that if I keep breaking the rules for you two, I'm going to have people lining up outside to shoot me!" Norman replied with a grin as he set her up to eat beside Uncas' bed.

"Now, enjoy your breakfast you two. I'll come back in a little while to see how you're both doing.

* * *

"How's our two patients doing?"

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Norman joined Cora and Richard at one of the tables in the ICU staff break room. Taking a sip, he raised his eyebrows and shook his head before answering Richard's question.

Well, both of them are awake. Alice looks good and Uncas is alert and doing incredibly well considering the shape he was in yesterday. He's still extremely weak and it's going to take a while before he's fully recovered, but from what I could see, he's definitely on his way."

"That's great!" said Richard. "I really had my doubts that he was going to pull through. I've never been so glad to be wrong in my life."

"When you walked into the room, did you happen to hear anything they might have been saying?" asked Cora.

"Umm, heh…they weren't talking when I walked in." Norman replied somewhat sheepishly.

"What _were_ they doing?" she asked.

"They, uh…they were kissing. Alice was lying in bed with him and as weak as he is, Uncas had her in quite a lip lock."

"They were in _bed together?_ I_ knew_ it was a bad idea to put the two of them in the same room!" exclaimed Richard.

"I disagree." replied Norman. "From what I saw just now, I think we _need _to keep them together."

"What _did_ you see, Norman?" Cora asked, hoping to gain some insight that would help her in treating her patients.

"I saw a lot! When they first realized I was standing there, Uncas immediately became very protective of Alice and clearly would have fought me if I had tried to separate them. And _she_ was clinging to him _for_ that protection. He doesn't trust us or the medical treatment he's receiving and I don't think Alice does either, although she seems willing to if it means it will help him to recover. Here's a good example. When I first started asking him how he felt, he was unwilling to tell me anything and despite everything I said to reassure him, it was only because Alice suggested they trust us that he began to open up to me and be honest about how he was feeling. We need to go easy with Uncas because he'll shut down on us fast if we push him the wrong way and he won't hesitate to get hostile. He didn't want me to give him an injection of pain medication and even in his weakened condition, he still had quite a bit of strength when he yanked his arm away from me. He's a fighter, almost like he's a….a..."

"A warrior?" suggested Cora.

"Yeah….a warrior." said Norman, who paused to take another sip of coffee. "I'll tell you one thing I know for certain. Those two aren't casual acquaintances. They _know_ each other and they care a great deal for one another."

"Do you think they're lovers?" Cora asked.

"Yeah, I think they are."

"Well, to a point anyway." Richard interjected. "During my initial examination of Alice when she first arrived here, I checked her for any evidence of sexual assault, given that she was the victim of a violent crime. Not only did I find nothing to indicate she'd had any sexual contact of any kind, I also discovered that she's still a virgin. So they're not lovers to the degree that they've been intimate yet."

"Well from what I saw, I got a feeling it won't be long before they are. In any case, they definitely are _not_ casual acquaintances. There's a strong bond between them and if we separate them, not only will _we_ have our hands full, I think it will do _them_ more harm than good. They're each a calming and reassuring presence to each other. And here's another thing. They don't appear to recognize _anything_ about the environment they are in. Not the medical equipment, not medications…not even _slang_ terms. I had to explain to Uncas what the words ok and kids meant. He _genuinely_ did not know the meaning of them."

"Jeez. How can _both_ of them be blocking out their memory so completely in _addition_ to assuming the identities of these two related historical figures?" asked an astounded Richard.

"That's what I plan to find out." said Cora.

"I have to ask you something, Norman." said Richard. "Several times now you've mentioned Uncas either fighting you or wanting to fight you. From what you've observed of his behavior both yesterday and today, do you think he's dangerous? For the safety of _my_ patient, the staff _and_ ourselves, we need to know."

"No, I don't believe he's dangerous at all. I think he's a very frightened young man who has no idea where he is or what's going on. He doesn't recognize _anything_ that's around him or that is being _done_ to him. If I were in his place, I'd be scared to _death_! And you don't need to worry about Alice's safety, either. He would _never_ hurt her. In fact, I have no doubt he'd be willing to _die_ in order to protect her." Norman replied as Richard nodded his satisfaction with the answer.

"I think that's probably what happened up on the Promontory." said Cora. "The attacker went after _her_ and _he_ tried to save her."

"Judging from Uncas' wounds, it must have been one hell of a fight." Norman added. "I can only imagine what condition the _attacker_ must be in. I'm surprised they didn't bring him here for treatment."

"Well, Detectives D'Angelo and Porter will be here later today to get statements from Alice and Uncas." said Cora. "We can ask them for more details about the man they arrested then. I'm going to sit in when they do talk to our mystery couple so that I can observe their behavior and reactions to the questions, and hear firsthand what their answers are. Hopefully they'll inadvertently reveal something that will help us identify them. We _really_ need to find their families. Uncas and Alice need them right now."

"I might have a clue that can help us with that." replied Norman. "Uncas was a bit vague when I asked him how much pain he was in, so I had him tell me on a scale of one to ten how bad it was. Now this is a guy who thinks he's an 18th century Mohican warrior, yet he told me with no hesitation that his pain was between six and seven. Since an Indian from the year 1757 wouldn't know how to count, I casually asked him where he went to school and he told me he and his brother attended a school run by a Reverend Wheelock in Lebanon, Connecticut."

"Norman, that's _great!_ It's our first solid lead!" replied Richard, who was happy they may have found a way to identify the young couple.

"Yeah! I plan to give this information to the detectives when they get here. They'll be able to locate that school and find out when he was a student there. Maybe this Reverend Wheelock, or a teacher, or somebody in the administration office will be able to identify him. Somebody's bound to remember him or maybe they'll find a yearbook photo…what's the matter, Cora?" Norman asked when he saw her lean back in her chair while shaking her head.

"Forget it, Norman. You don't need to bother the detectives about Reverend Wheelock's school because they're not going to find it."

"Why not?"

"Because Reverend Wheelock died in 1779 and the _real_ Uncas, along with his brother Nathaniel, attended the reverend's school while they were children."

_"You're kidding me?"_ Norman said in dismay as he saw his clue go out the window.

"Unbelievable!" groaned Richard.

"You know, now that I think about it, all may not be lost. If I remember right, Reverend Wheelock was the founder of a major college in Connecticut. Our Uncas could be a student there and, in associating himself with the real Uncas, he could be referring to the college by its original name instead of the one it's known by now. Let's go ahead and tell the detectives about this. Uncas looks to be in his early twenties, I'd guess somewhere between twenty and twenty two, and Alice looks to be about eighteen, maybe nineteen at best. If we can get them to tell us how old they are, the detectives can see if either of them are students there…or in Uncas' case, a possible alumni if I'm right about his age." suggested Cora.

"And I'm going to take that bandage and the clothing the both of them were wearing to that antique dealer to see if any of it is antique or just extremely well made reproductions. I should be back long before the detectives get here." said Norman, who then sighed.

"One way or another, we're going to find out who these two really are so we can get them home where they belong."

* * *

"Mmm, this food is quite good!"

Sitting beside Uncas as they ate their breakfast together, Alice was thoroughly enjoying her meal.

"What did they give you?" asked Uncas.

"Well, according to this menu that's on my tray, I have something called pancakes and syrup….that must be these flat round cakes….and I have bacon, a blueberry muffin and these are peaches. Oh Uncas, they're _so_ good! Then I have hot tea and cranberry juice. How is your food?"

"Some of it looks strange, but so far everything tastes good." said Uncas.

"So far?"

"I've tried everything except these moving red blocks of…..whatever it is." he replied with a questionable look on his face as he poked it with his spoon. "I don't want to eat anything that won't hold still."

"What do you suppose it is?" she asked as she peered up at the plastic bowl on his tray.

"I dunno. I've never seen anything like it before. And this other bowl is full of some kind of soft, brown….something. It looks disgusting. I'm not going to eat that either."

"Well, what does your menu say? If we eliminate the food you recognize, maybe we can figure out what they are." she suggested as he picked up the slip from his tray. Holding out her hand for the menu, she was surprised when he didn't give it to her.

"I can read it." he told her with a little smile. "I went to school, remember?"

"Oh, that's right! I forgot." she replied as she proudly watched him glance at the menu.

"Let's see, it says I got beef broth…that was good….and oatmeal…that was good too. Then there's the hot tea and the apple juice…which was alright, but I think I like pressed cider better. That leaves something called strawberry gel-atin and choc-o-late pudding."

"That doesn't sound bad, why don't you try them?" Alice suggested as he gave her the same look he might have given his mother when he was a little boy and didn't want to eat something. Giggling, she stood up and looked at the two questionable items.

"Here, let me taste them." she offered. "I had a hot drink called cocoa once, which was made from chocolate and I really liked it, although I must confess I've never seen the likes of _this_ before." Dipping her spoon into the pudding as Uncas cringed, she took a small taste and immediately broke into a huge smile as her eyes lit up.

"Oh Uncas, it's absolutely _delicious!_ You must try it!"

"I'll take your word for it."

"Oh please, just try a little taste. You_ know_ I wouldn't ask you to if it tasted bad. Just a little bit." she coaxed as she held a small spoonful up to his lips. Glaring at the offensive looking substance on the spoon, he reluctantly opened his mouth and tasted it.

"Your right, it _is_ good!" he said as a smile lit up his face as well. "Chocolate pudding….I _like_ it! But what about this….strawberry gel-atin. I don't see any strawberries in it….and why does it keep dancing around in the bowl?"

"I don't know." replied Alice as she spooned up one of the gelatin cubes and sniffed it. "It _smells_ a bit like strawberries, but in an odd way." she added before taking a bite out of it. Looking at the wall opposite her, she tilted her head as she considered the unusual food.

"Well?" he asked.

"It turns to liquid in your mouth and it tastes _somewhat_ like strawberries…but it's good. In fact, it's _very_ good. I like it!"

"I suppose you want _me_ to try it now." said Uncas, who watched as Alice finished off the rest of the gelatin on the spoon. Taking the utensil from her, he picked up another cube and gave it the same glare that he gave to the pudding. Quickly placing the whole cube in his mouth in order to get it over with, another pleasantly surprised look came over his face.

"This is the strangest thing I've ever eaten. I wish Nathaniel was here to try this. He likes things that are sweet." commented Uncas.

"He has a sweet tooth then." said Alice.

"I dunno….he has a _lot_ of teeth. _One_ of them might be." replied a puzzled Uncas as Alice began to giggle.

"You Yengeese sure talk funny."

* * *

Having finished his breakfast, Uncas leaned back against the pillow and sipped his tea while he considered the situation he and Alice were in. After surveying their room and the equipment in it, he redirected his attention to the window that looked out to the hallway of the ICU and viewed what little of it he could see from his position. Nowhere had he ever seen a place such as this and he knew of no doctors who practiced medicine this way in the settlements. Taking another sip of tea, he then held the plastic mug in front of him. Studying it closely, he ran his fingertips over the side of it and tapped it with his nail before admitting to himself he had no idea what kind of material it was made from. With a deep sigh, followed by a low moan from the pain his ribs repaid him with, he put his head back on the pillow and lowered the mug to his lap.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked from her chair after hearing him moan.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he reassured her. "Sometimes my ribs hurt if I breathe too deep or move the wrong way."

"Do you need more medicine for the pain?"

"No. No, I'm alright. Alice, something's not right about all this. Are you sure you've never seen _any_ place like this before? Not even in London?"

"No, not even there. We had hospitals, but they weren't _anything_ like this, nor have I ever seen clothing like the people here are wearing. And this….medical equipment as they call it…..I've never seen anything like _it_ before, either. They don't even have _candles_ here, Uncas! Instead, they touch something on the wall or pull a cord and it makes the room get either brighter or darker. And although it's fun to make the bed move, I do not understand how something like that is possible."

"What _I_ don't understand are these vines that are attached to me. I don't like them….especially these." he said, indicating the electrodes on his chest. "I want to take them off."

_"No_ Uncas, _please!_ You must _not!_ We don't know what they are or how they are attached to you, and because of what they are doing, it frightens me to think of what might happen to you if you remove them. _Please_ leave them on until the doctor says you don't need them anymore." she begged him, still innocently thinking he would die if he removed them.

"Alright, but I'm only leaving them on because you want me to." he replied before looking up at the plastic IV bag hanging on the stand beside him and then following the plastic tubing down to his hand. "Why can't they give me the medicine I need with a spoon, or let me drink it from a cup? Why do they have to give it to me _this_ way, and give me other kinds of medicine by sticking needles in me? Do the Yengeese doctors you know of give medicine this way?"

"No, they don't. Uncas, I'm scared. I wish we could leave this place. Please hurry and get well again so that we can go!" Alice said with a look on her face that made him wish he had the strength to take her away this very moment.

"Come here." he said softy.

Reaching out his good arm, he took hold of her hand as she sat next to him on the bed.

"I'll get us out of here…soon. I promise. I just need some time to get some of my strength back. In a few days I should be strong enough and we'll sneak out of here. I just wish I knew where here _was!"_

_"You_ know this land, Uncas. Can you think of anywhere a place such as this might be?" she asked.

"No. Nowhere. What about those doctors? Did they say anything to you about how we got here?"

"They said we were brought here after we fell and that if the hikers hadn't found us, we would have died."

"Hikers? What are hikers?" he asked.

"I don't know. I never heard of the word before. They use a _lot_ of words I've never heard before."

"Well, I know I must have been in pretty bad shape and from the way you said I was bleeding, whoever found us would have taken us to someplace that was close by, but that doesn't make sense. Except for the Huron village Magua took you from, there's nothing but wilderness out here." reasoned Uncas.

"Maybe this is Fort Edward?"

"No, it's too far. The cliff we fell from is at least three days away from Fort Edward. And besides, I've been to Fort Edward and it looks very much like Fort William Henry." replied Uncas, who then gave a big yawn.

"Well wherever we are, I know you'll get us out of here. Perhaps then we can find our families. Do you think they are still near? Surely they must be looking for us…..Uncas?"

Thinking he had just closed his eyes to rest for a moment while she was speaking, she realized when he didn't answer her that he had fallen asleep. Gently removing the mug of tea from his hand, she placed it on the bed table which she then pushed out of the way and picked up the top of the sheet and blankets that were gathered around his waist with the intention of covering him. Before she did however, she took a close look at the bandages covering his wounds and noticed for the first time that they were unlike any she had ever seen before.

Accustomed to seeing bandages in the form of long pieces of cloth that were wrapped around the body or limb, these bandages varied in size, were rectangular in shape and were not much bigger than the wound itself. What's more, they appeared to somehow be attached directly to the surrounding skin. Hesitantly touching the bandage on his shoulder, she discovered that not only was it different in appearance, it was also made of a material unlike any she had seen before. Studying the IV in his hand, her attention settled next on the heart monitor and she followed the leads back to the electrodes on his chest.

"You are right, Uncas, there_ is_ something wrong about all of this." she whispered to him as she stroked his hair. "We don't _belong_ here. I wish there was a way I could take you away from this place, but even if I could, you are too weak to be moved."

Pulling the blankets up and tucking them around his shoulders, Alice leaned forward and placed a light kiss on his lips before returning to her own bed. After raising the back of the bed to a comfortable reclining position, she reached over to the bed table she had rolled over with her and began to nibble on the rest of her blueberry muffin.

As she chewed, she remembered her father mentioning how much he liked blueberries in one of the many letters he sent his daughters from the colonies and she began to cry for the father she had lost. She knew he was dead. She hadn't seen him die, but she had seen his fallen horse surrounded by painted warriors and his booted foot sticking up, lying limp and motionless in the stirrup on the animal's side. He was dead and she grieved for him, for although he was a strict military officer who his men respected and sometimes feared, he was also a tender, gentle and loving father who thought his daughters had hung the moon and the stars.

Hearing Uncas moan softly as he shifted positions in his sleep, she looked over and watched him for several moments to assure herself he was alright, then returned her thoughts to her father. How would he have reacted to his youngest daughter being in love with a Mohican warrior? Not well. No doubt he would not have approved of their relationship one bit and had he lived, she felt sure he would have gone to any means necessary to keep them apart. Perhaps even going so far as to sending her back to England or having Uncas physically punished or imprisoned or _all_ of those things if they had tried to defy him and remain together.

Thinking of what her father might have done to Uncas made her shiver and she wondered how _his_ father would react to the news of his only blood son being in love with a white woman. Undoubtedly Chingachgook would expect Uncas to marry an Indian woman. Will _he_ accept their relationship? Will Nathaniel? Will Cora? Will _anyone? _Well, _some_ do anyway. As strange as the doctors were in this place, _they_ at least seemed to have no problem with her and Uncas being together. In fact, they had referred to Uncas as being her boy-friend on more than one occasion, although she did think it odd they would refer to him as being a boy when he was clearly a man.

Thoughts of their families made her wonder why Chingachgook and Nathaniel had not found her and Uncas yet. They would never just abandon them….not even if they believed the both of them to be dead. Nothing would have stopped Chingachgook and Nathaniel from going to where Uncas fell, and Cora would not have left her lying at the base of that cliff either. And if she and Uncas had already been taken away by the time they got down there, his father and brother would have easily tracked them to this location. So where were they? What was keeping them?

Finishing off the last of her muffin, Alice brushed the crumbs from her hands over the table and glanced at the menu which was still lying on the food tray. Picking it up, she leaned back against the pillow and read the entire listing of food and beverage choices, including the ones that had been selected for her and she frowned upon reading the names of several food items she'd never heard of before. Turning the menu over, she saw what she assumed was a sketch of the exterior of the hospital, along with the name and address of its location printed on the back.

"North Hudson Regional Medical Center, 182 Forest Drive, Glens Falls, New York." she softly read out loud to herself. Lowering her hands to her lap, she directed her gaze to the doorway and hall window and stared in bewilderment at a nurse walking by.

"Where the bloody hell _are_ we?" she whispered.

* * *

_"Hold that door!"_

Sprinting over to the elevator in the hospital lobby, Detectives Frank D'Angelo and Chris Porter jumped inside after a hand caught the door as it started to close. Turning towards the control panel, Det. D'Angelo was just about to press the button for the floor he and his partner were heading to when he recognized the man they were sharing the elevator with.

"Thanks for holding the el….oh hey, you're just the man we were coming to see! Dr. Harris, right?"

"That would be me, Detective. I assume you gentlemen are heading to the ICU to meet with Dr. Van Houten, Dr. Spencer and myself?"

"Yeah, we are. We were hoping afterwards to get statements from the girl and the fella. Think either of them will be able to talk to us?" D'Angelo asked.

"I don't see why not. Alice regained full consciousness the evening after the attack and Uncas came around yesterday, but he's still very weak and receiving a strong dose of pain medication, so he may be sleeping and if he is, I do_ not_ want him disturbed."

"Understood." D'Angelo replied. "I spoke to Dr. Van Houten on the phone and she filled me in on the mental state of the victims. She said they're suffering from some form of amnesia and that they've assumed the identities of a couple of people who lived back in 1757?"

"That's right. In fact, that's where they think they still _are_….in 1757. They don't recognize anything that's from this century and as a result, the two of them are very scared and very confused. Since each of them is the only thing the other does recognize, they refuse to be separated, so we're allowing them to share the same room. One other thing. Uncas is _extremely_ protective of Alice, so I must caution you both to proceed_ very_ carefully in your interview with her. If you upset her, you're going to upset him, and as his doctor I will _not_ allow that to happen! His body has been through a severe trauma and I do not want him becoming stressed." Norman firmly stated as the three men exited the elevator and entered the ICU.

"He's also very reluctant to trust us, so whatever you do, don't give him a reason not to."

* * *

"Sorry we couldn't make it over here yesterday like we had planned." Det. D'Angelo apologized. "Things have really taken off on this case."

Sitting in the small ICU conference room with the two detectives along with Norman and Richard, Cora was as eager as the other two doctors to hear what progress the police had made in the case involving the attack on their patients.

"How is the investigation progressing so far?" she asked.

"It's pretty much solved, with the exception of a few loose ends that still need to be tied up. The suspect's name is Henry Smith, thirty one years of age, blond hair, blue eyes. He looks like the kinda guy you'd want your daughter to bring home…till you get to know him that is. He's got an arrest record a mile long, most of which is for assault and battery and robbery. He escaped from a medium security facility downstate two weeks before the attacks began. Turns out he grew up in this area and was very familiar with Promontory State Park, which is why he went there and was able to hide from authorities for so long. All of the other victims identified him in a line up and the evidence we collected in that cave he was living in ties him in nice and neat to the crimes." said D'Angelo.

"We've got enough evidence to put him away for life. All that's left is getting statements from Alice and Uncas and seeing if they can positively identify the suspect from the mug shots we brought with us so that we can add two counts of attempted murder to the charges already pending against him."

"Still no luck in identifying either of them?" Richard asked.

"No." replied Det. Porter. "We took the fingerprints our lab tech got while the two of them were still unconscious and the photos you managed to snap of them and ran them through several national databases, but there were no matches. Then we took those same photos and broadcast them on local and national new stations, but so far nobody's come forward to identify them."

"I thought sure people would recognize them, especially Uncas." said Cora. "He's a strikingly handsome young man and when Richard emailed those photos to you, I expected your phone lines would ring off the hook with women calling to say they knew him. Take it from a woman, he's the kind of guy women will notice _anywhere_, even when he's pushing a shopping cart in a supermarket."

"That's what a female detective in our unit said! By the way Dr. Spencer, how did you manage to get those photos when the two of them are so leery about the modern world?" asked D'Angelo.

"Ahh, it was a classic example of teamwork!" Richard explained with a smug grin. "While Dr. Van Houten and Dr. Harris casually chatted with the two of them about their lunch yesterday, I stood back and discreetly took their pictures with my smartphone, making sure that the flash was off so as not to attract their attention. Alice paid me no mind, but Uncas did. He has eyes like a hawk and notices everything. When he asked me what I was holding, I said it was a special tobacco case my wife gave me for a gift that morning and that I was holding it up in order to try and figure out how to open it. That seemed to satisfy him and he even suggested that I hold it flat so that if I accidently opened it, the tobacco wouldn't fall out."

"I'm starting to_ like_ this Uncas and I haven't even met him yet!" D'Angelo replied with a chuckle.

* * *

"Detective Porter and I would like to thank you both for you willingness to talk to us."

Sitting in chairs that were positioned between Uncas and Alice's beds, Det. D'Angelo and Porter began their interview with the couple. Joining them in order to observe and help with mediating any difficulties the two policemen might encounter, Cora sat on the bed with a somewhat nervous Alice and reassuringly held her hand. Not wanting their patients to feel they were being ganged up on, it was agreed that Norman would also be present while Richard waited outside at the nurse's station.

"I know it will be difficult for you to relive what happened out there and that you just want to forget about the whole incident, but as law enforcement officers, we need this information in order to make sure the man we arrested is put away in prison where he belongs so that he can never do anything like this to anyone again." D'Angelo continued.

"We appreciate everything you're doing gentlemen to help Uncas and Alice." said Norman, who gave a wary Uncas a friendly pat on the arm.

"We're glad we can help. And I promise that we'll make this as easy as possible for both of you." Porter said gently as he gave a brotherly smile to Alice, who reminded him of his baby sister.

Having been asked to tell what happened to them the day they were attacked, Alice and a surprisingly cooperative Uncas told of the military column being attacked by a large war party of Huron, Abenaki and Ottawa and of the escape they made afterward across the lake, taking shelter in the cavern behind the waterfall. They then told of how Magua and his men found them and took Alice, her sister and their friend, Major Heyward, hostage while Uncas told of jumping through the falls with his father and brother and of how they ran all night to pick up the captive's trail and followed it to the Huron village. Uncas went on to tell of how he went after Magua by himself after seeing the warrior leaving the village with Alice, of how he ambushed them up on the Promontory and of his subsequent fight with Magua, culminating with his being pushed off the cliff.

"So clearly this….Magua...had no problem with killing you. Why do you think he didn't cut your throat like he intended to? The wound on your neck is hardly more than a scratch." asked D'Angelo.

"I think he was distracted." Alice said in a voice so soft, it was just above a whisper. "When I saw him raise the knife to Uncas' throat, I heard a man scream from somewhere down the mountain trail. It sounded like the voice of Uncas' father, Chingachgook. The whole time Uncas was fighting, I kept waiting and hoping that his father and brother would come and save him before it was too late….but they never came."

"Alice? Why did you jump?" Porter asked with a tenderness in his voice that was uncharacteristic of the hardened detective.

"Because I thought Uncas was dead. I love him…and I could not bear the thought of living in a world that he was no longer a part of." she said as she and Uncas shared a look that was full of the love they felt for each other.

Clearing his throat, D'Angelo opened a folder and removed a handful of mug shots from it. Spreading them out on one of the bed tables, he rolled it over to Uncas.

"Have you ever seen a portrait that had been painted of someone, Uncas?" he asked

"Yeah."

"Well, I have six portraits here that were painted by an artist who's so good, the paintings look real. I want you to look at these paintings and tell me if you see the man you fought with, ok?"

With a nod of his head, Uncas looked at the photos and was amazed at how realistic the men in them looked. Watching him closely as he calmly glanced at the photos, the doctors and the detectives noticed that not even a hint of emotion crossed his features.

"These men are all Yengeese. Magua is Huron. None of these portraits are of him."

"Ok." said D'Angelo. "How about you, Alice? Do you feel up to looking at these men to see if you recognize anyone?"

"Yes. He killed my father and he almost killed Uncas. I want Magua to be punished for what he's done." she said. Looking at the photos, Alice was also surprised by how real the men in them looked. With disappointment on her face, she shook her head as she looked at D'Angelo.

"It is as Uncas said. None of these men are him."

"I've got an idea. I used to sketch portraits and sell them while I was in college. Why don't the two of you describe Magua to me and I'll draw a picture of him." suggested Porter as he opened up his briefcase and removed a sketch pad that he always brought with him for situations like this. Working together, Uncas and Alice described Magua to the detective and when they were finished and verified the sketched portrait was accurate, Porter let out a low whistle.

"This is one scary-ass looking son of a bitch!" he exclaimed. "I certainly wouldn't want to meet _him_ when he's having a bad day."

Thanking the couple again for their assistance, the detectives left the room and waited for Norman and Cora to join them by the nurse's station with Richard.

"I hope you don't mind, Richard, but I allowed Alice to stay with Uncas in his bed for a little while." said Cora when she and Norman joined the other men. "Even though she held up like a trooper, I could tell that reliving the events of that day shook her up a bit and it really looked like she needed a hug. Besides, she probably would have gone to him on her own anyway and at least this way, Norman and I were able to help her do it."

"We're all gonna get shot if the hospital director finds out about this." Richard moaned while covering his eyes.

"So what do you think, detectives?" asked Norman.

"I don't know _what _to think. When Dr. Van Houten told me about her ancestor's diary, I bought a copy and read it last night. Uncas and Alice described everything that happened after the English evacuated Fort William Henry in complete detail. The only stuff that was original was what happened after they left the Huron village. Since the only thing Cora witnessed was her sister falling off the cliff, that's the only part the diary contained." said D'Angelo.

"Did the diary say what happened after that?" asked Richard, who had not read the book yet.

"No." replied Cora. "Somehow the rest of the original diary got wet and caused the ink to run, so that's where it ends. My theory is they both read that diary themselves to study for the roles they'd been cast to play in some production and the original parts they spoke of were what really happened to them when they were attacked."

"Based on his wounds, I believe Uncas' description of the fight he had with his attacker." Norman stated. "He has a number of minor scratches and bruises on his body that are consistent with what he described. Did the suspect you arrested have any injuries on _him?"_

"No, there wasn't a mark on him. If Uncas did fight him the way he said he did, Smith managed to dodge every blow." said Porter. "Smith also denies the whole incident, says he heard a guy yell and went to check it out, but that nobody was on the cliff when he got there. He said he peeked over the side and when he saw a man and a woman lying at the base of the cliff, he got the hell out of there. We've caught him in several lies already on other cases so I think he's just trying to avoid a couple of attempted murder charges."

"I was sure we'd get a reaction out of the two of them when they looked at the mug shots. Especially Alice. But I didn't see so much as a glimmer of recognition out of either of them." said Norman.

"That's because they've completely shut themselves off from reality." said Cora.

"You've really got your job cut out for you, Doc." said Porter. "And I guess we can eliminate this last attack from the charges against Smith. A judge will throw the case out based on the mental condition of the victims and even if we did manage to get Uncas and Alice's case to court, the defense attorneys would have a field day with it _and_ them, and it would hurt the cases of the other seven victims. I'm afraid we're going to have to let this one go."

"But we're still gonna keep trying to find out who those two kids really are." D'Angelo offered. "I gotta tell ya, though...we're not having any luck so far. We've checked out a number of universities and colleges, especially that one you thought Uncas might have attended; we've checked out theater groups, historical reenactment groups….you name it, we've looked into it and so far….nada!" he said. Pausing, the detective shook his head before continuing.

"It's like all roads lead to nowhere!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter became a real struggle to write. After getting off to a smooth start, I ran into some rough road about halfway through it and I lost count of how many times I rewrote several sections until I finally got everything to come out the way I wanted it. I knew what I wanted to _have_ happen, I just couldn't _make_ it happen! Hopefully everything will be easier from here on out. I will tell you however, that things are going to get interesting for Uncas and Alice in the next chapter, but that's the only hint you get.

I would like to thank everyone who is reading this story and especially those of you who have taken the extra time to write reviews. It means so much to me to know what you think of this story. The next chapter is on its way and hopefully this time it won't take so long in coming. Thank you again everyone! MohawkWoman :)


	4. Chapter 4: Beyond the Window

**Chapter 4: Beyond the Window **

"Here you go, Fiona. One coffee, black with sugar as requested."

Handing the mug to the elderly woman sitting on the couch in his office, Norman took a seat beside her and sipped the hot liquid inside his own cup. It was now the morning of the fourth day of Uncas and Alice's stay at the hospital and no one was any closer to discovering what their real identities were. Even their interview with the State Police detectives the day before resulted in more dead ends. Eager to hear what his antique dealer friend had to tell him, Norman had been anxiously waiting for her results ever since he dropped off a suitcase containing Uncas and Alice's personal effects at her shop two days ago in order to determine if they were authentic or not. Seeing how Fiona was bubbling with excitement, he felt his own anticipation beginning to build and wondered what her findings had been.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Dr. Harris." Fiona said in her heavy Irish brogue while she fidgeted in her seat. "I know you're very busy in the morning, what with all of the patients you need to see, but I simply _had_ to come down here first thing and tell you the results of my examination of the clothing you brought me the other day. _Oh, _saints be praised, I've never seen the likes of it before! _Never!_ I was so excited I could hardly sleep last night but for wanting to come talk to you!"

"You're killing me with suspense, Fiona. What did you find out?" Norman asked as he took another sip.

"I'll begin by telling you that _every_ _single_ item you brought me is _100% authentic!_ The dress, the undergarments, the boots, the buckskin clothing and moccasins, the weapons….even the _bandage! Everything_ is the genuine article from the 18th century."

"Are you sure? There's no mistake?"

"None!" she firmly stated as she slapped her leg. "After I examined everything, I couldn't _believe_ what I'd found, so I drove down to Albany to have a friend of mine who is an antiquarian in the university's history department verify my findings. It's _all_ genuine!"

"How can both of you be so positive?" he asked.

Opening up the suitcase she had set on top of the coffee table when she first arrived, Fiona gently removed a plastic garment bag and laid it across her lap. Unzipping it, she lightly ran her fingertips over the bodice of Alice's dress, which was neatly folded inside of the bag.

"Well, take this dress for example." said Fiona. "There is another one that is _identical_ to it in the university's history museum. Both were made in colonial Albany by a woman who was the personal seamstress for two well-to-do sisters who were twins and who thought it would be fun to have matching outfits. One of the sisters was married to a successful wigmaker and lived her whole life in Albany, and it is _her_ dress that is on exhibit in the museum. The other sister married a British Army lieutenant and accompanied him to his post when he was assigned to Fort William Henry. Apparently, she took _her _dress with her, but since she and her husband were both killed in an explosion during the siege, it was unknown until now what became of that dress."

"And you're certain this really is the other dress and not just a reproduction?" Norman asked after a shiver ran down his spine at the mention of Fort William Henry.

"There's no doubt about it. My friend tested fabric samples taken from each dress and confirmed that both were made from the exact same bolts of cloth. What's more, the sisters had a portrait painted of themselves in the spring of 1757, just before the one young woman left to go with her husband to the fort. Both were wearing the dresses in that portrait so we know they date to at least that year, if not earlier." Fiona replied as she set aside the bag containing the dress and removed a smaller one containing the bandage from the suitcase.

"He also confirmed the identity of this narrow strip of cloth. It was milled exclusively for a prominent dressmaker in London in the year 1756, who used all of the fabric to make one single garment. The reason we know this is because this dressmaker only made clothing for the ladies of London society and she kept explicit documentation of every garment she ever made, what it was made of and who it was made for, along with a small swatch of the fabric used to make it. She would also embroider an individual shape on each garment in a discreet spot where it wouldn't be seen, thus marking it as her work and also as a way of cross referencing the dress to her records, in which she noted what mark she used. As it turns out, this piece of cloth came from the section of the skirt that contains the dressmaker's mark. See? It's right there." said Fiona as she held the fabric out to Norman and pointed to a small half-moon that had been stitched onto the fabric.

"The dressmaker's record books survived the centuries and are now on display in a London museum. Through the museum's online archives, we were able to match this mark to an entry in one of the books. Here's a copy we printed of a page in one of the books that references this mark. See? There's the swatch and there's her dressmaker's mark." she said as she handed Norman the color copy before continuing with her report.

"According to the records, this piece of pale blue silk came from a riding dress the woman made for a Miss Cora Munro of Portman Square. She also made a pink silk riding dress for Cora's younger sister, Alice. Both garments were a gift from the daughter of a Member of Parliament, who wanted to give her two friends a going away present for an upcoming trip they were making to the American colonies. I wish you had the entire dress instead of just a strip that had been torn from it." Fiona said wistfully as she set the bag containing the bandage on top of Alice's dress and moved the suitcase to the floor.

"But of everything you brought to me, the _true_ gems…..are these." she said as she carefully removed several other bags containing Uncas' clothing and reverently placed each one on the table.

"The moment I removed them from the suitcase you brought me, I could not _believe_ what I was holding in my hands and my friend nearly _fainted_ when _he_ saw them! While the shirt, leggings and loincloth are typical of those worn by the Eastern Woodland tribes native to this region during that period of history, the moccasins, wampum belt, knife and sheath, the powder horn, tomahawk and quilled hair ornament are unique in that they belong to _one_ particular tribe only.

"Was your friend able to identify which tribe they're from?" Norman asked as another shiver ran down his spine.

"Yes, he was. They are Mohican, which is why he was so excited about them. Genuine 18th century Mohican artifacts are extremely rare and valuable. What you see here before you on this table is a _national treasure! _My friend asked me to tell you that if you should ever want to donate them to a museum, he would be honored and humbled to accept them on behalf of the university." said Fiona, who paused for a moment as she leaned back and looked directly at Norman.

"But I must tell you there is something very special about every one of these items that sets them apart from _all_ other existing historical artifacts that have ever been found."

"What makes them so special?" asked Norman, who was numb from the news about Uncas' personal belongings.

"Even though all of these items are unquestionably from the 18th century and are worn from use…they are not old."

"Wait….what do you mean they're not old?"

"Just what I said….they're not old. Authentic historical artifacts such as these all have a naturally aged look about them that only the passing of time can give them. Even the best and most carefully preserved items will have that same aged quality about them. _Every_ _single_ _one _of _these_ items is at_ least_ 255 years old and yet they are in the_ exact_ condition they would have been in when their owners wore them. It's almost as though these items were literally _just_ delivered here from the 1750's! Dr. Harris, where on _earth_ did you get them from?"

"They, uh….they belong to one of my patients and his girlfriend.…the ones who were attacked up on the Promontory a few days ago." Norman slowly managed to get out, still reeling from the shock of this last revelation.

"You mean that dear young couple they've been showing on those news bulletins on the television? _Oh those poor little lambs!" _she cried out, immediately forgetting all about the clothing.

"You take _good care_ of those two sweet dears, Doctor! They need all the love they can get right now." Fiona ordered as she stood up to leave. _"Oh_…_.imagine_ being attacked like that! And then waking up in a hospital not knowing who you are! I can't even begin to…._Oh,_ they're families must be worried_ sick_ about them. I can't_ believe_ they haven't come forward yet to identify….."

Listening to Fiona's voice fade as she prattled her way out the door, Norman stared numbly at Uncas and Alice's belongings, then ran his hand over his face before clasping it over his mouth as he gave a big sigh and shook his head in disbelief.

"What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

"I can't _believe_ this!"

Sitting in the ICU conference room, Richard shook his head in amazement after Norman filled him and Cora in on the meeting he just had with Fiona. Also stunned by the news, Cora stared blankly at the napkin holder on the center of the table while Norman slowly nodded.

"Believe it." he told his friend.

"This whole situation is getting stranger by the minute." said Richard, who was still trying to make sense of it all. "First the two of them survive a fall that should have killed them on impact and walk away with nothing more than a few bruises, sprains and a couple of cracked ribs. Then both of them end up suffering the exact same type of amnesia and assume the identities of two historical figures who knew each other…and now this!"

"I'm trying to remember what Cora Munro wrote in her diary." said Norman. "I seem to recall she mentioned something about a blue dress. Do you remember, Cora?"

"Yes, I do. I've read that diary so many times these past few days, I practically have it memorized. Before retiring to bed on her first night at the fort, Cora made an entry in her diary and one of the things she wrote about was how both hers and Alice's riding dresses were ruined after becoming wet and soiled on their journey through the wilderness. She described her own dress in detail and mentioned how much she loved it and regretted that it was now unwearable. After volunteering to work in the fort surgery, she said she took both dresses and tore them up to be used for much needed bandages. She went on to say that she bound Uncas' bayonet wound that night with one of the bandages made from her dress and that it struck her as odd as to how becoming the pale blue silk material looked against his dark skin."

"And there's no way that your friend and her colleague could have made a mistake, Norm?" asked Richard. "Not even about the items not showing their age?"

"No." Norman replied. "She left me copies of all of the documentation and verification they'd found, along with certificates of authenticity for each item. All of Uncas and Alice's personal belongings are the real deal. I don't know about the rest of you, but this is starting to get a little scary. It's almost like…."

_"Norman, don't even go there!_" Cora retorted. "I know what you're about to say and it's _impossible!_ They are _not_ the real Uncas and Alice! They _can't_ be! You're letting all of this get to you! Somehow those two managed to get hold of these well preserved artifacts and they were wearing them that day for some kind of rehearsal or role playing. Now I'll admit this is all a bit strange, but you can't let that strangeness cloud your common sense. Come _on _now!"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Norman reluctantly agreed, though still maintaining his suspicions. "Well, we'd better get on with the task at hand. Cora, are you sure we're doing the right thing? I mean granted, after three full days in the ICU, Uncas is ready to be transferred out of critical care and Alice was ready to be discharged from the hospital altogether since day two. I agree with keeping them together, but do you think moving them to the General Inpatient Unit is a good idea? Shouldn't we put them somewhere that's more secluded?"

"No." replied Cora. "You said it yourself, Norman. We can't hide the world from them forever. Several times now Alice has gotten up on her own to go to Uncas and it's just a matter of time before _he_ feels strong enough to try moving around. You've seen how suspicious he is of everything. As soon as he's able, he's going to start exploring and Alice is _not_ going to let him out of her sight for fear that if he walks out of the room, he'll never come back."

"Which is exactly why I have my doubts about where we're putting them." Norman reiterated. "The ICU is a highly controlled environment. There are no TV's in the rooms, no radios on the beds and every patient is watched closely twenty four seven. That's not the case in the Inpatient Unit. Even if we put them in a room right across from the nurse's station, it will be easy for Uncas to watch for an opportunity to slip out. And Alice loves to play with the buttons on the bed. What's going to happen when she inadvertently turns on the TV or the radio?"

"I'm actually counting on her doing that. Norman, I understand your concern and as I said from the beginning, I want to proceed slowly in their treatment so as not to shock them with reality all at once. However, I_ do_ want them to gradually become exposed to the modern world because I'm hoping that the more they experience, the more something is going to seem familiar to them and trigger a memory. Just _seeing_ the general patient unit could very well bring that about. Only a small percentage of people have ever been inside an Intensive Care Unit, but many people at one time or another have at least visited a patient in the hospital, if they weren't a patient themselves. Something is going to seem familiar to them and that could very well be the breakthrough I've been hoping for."

"But what if Uncas decides to take Alice for a little stroll?" asked Richard.

_"Let him!_ They won't get far before they're seen and whoever finds them will bring them back to their room."

"I wouldn't count on getting Uncas back to the room being that easy." said Norman. "Depending on how whoever finds them handles the situation, he could very well put up some resistance….especially if he feels Alice is in danger."

_"Look, we don't have a choice here, ok?" _Cora shouted. "There are only _two places_ in this hospital that we can transfer them to….the Inpatient Unit, or the Psychiatric Unit. Would you rather have them go there? If you think the two of them are scared now, imagine how they'll feel when they encounter some of the patients we have up there right now. Take my word for it…you don't want them to be up there and neither do I."

"Cora's right, Norman. There isn't anywhere else to put them." said Richard.

"Yeah, I know." a defeated Norman replied as he rubbed his eyes. "It's just that I really care about those two kids and I'm starting to get a bit protective of them."

"Bad move, buddy. You're getting too close to them." Richard cautioned his friend.

"I can't help it. As things stand now, we're all they've got. Who _else_ is gonna look out for them if we don't?"

"How do you guys think _I _feel? They're claiming to be related to my _ancestors _for god's sake!" exclaimed Cora. "But we have to remain professional and focused with Uncas and Alice because we haven't got much time left. As Norman said, Alice was ready to be discharged from the hospital two days ago and the only reason she's still here is because I managed to convince the hospital director to let her remain with Uncas as part of their psychiatric treatment. And now that Uncas is recovering, he'll probably be ready to be discharged himself in a few more days. _I care about them too, _and I _need_ to begin getting through to them somehow before they_ are_ discharged or else…." Cora stopped in mid sentence, unable to bring herself to say the rest of it.

"Or else what?" Richard asked.

With a deep sigh, Cora swirled the remainder of the coffee in her mug before looking directly at the two men sitting at the table with her.

"Or else they'll be considered mentally incompetent and will be committed to a psychiatric facility. If that happens, they will _not_ be allowed to have _any_ contact with each other whatsoever."

"That'll kill them! They may have survived the fall from that cliff, but they'll _never_ survive being separated from each other." Richard said grimly as he looked at his companions.

"You could very well be right." Cora sadly replied. "Based on what I've observed so far of Uncas' behavior, he'll try to find her and no doubt fight anyone who tries to stop him. He'll then be considered violent and potentially dangerous and he'll be kept isolated and heavily medicated until he's no more than a shadow of who he is now. And Alice…she'll be lost and terrified without him and will probably retreat so far into herself, there will be no reaching her. That is if she doesn't resort to suicide again."

"Which she probably will based on her behavior after Uncas fell." added Norman. "I've gotten to know Alice pretty well these past few days. I know she and Uncas will both panic and struggle when they're first separated and when they refuse to let Alice see him, she'll assume it's because he's dead and she won't want to live without him. If only we could find someone who'd be willing to take custody of them, then they wouldn't have to go to a place like that. There's got to be _someone_ who'd be willing to take them in? I'd do it myself, but since I live alone, there'd be no one to stay with them while I'm here at the hospital." Banging his fist in frustration on the table, Norman threw himself against the back of his chair.

"Where the _hell_ are their families?"

* * *

"I think this color will look good on you."

Sitting in her bed after having finished her breakfast, Alice resumed her work on a shirt she was making for Uncas to replace the green one he was wearing that day on the cliff, which she knew without seeing was beyond repair. Assisted by Cora, she had taken his measurements and requested the necessary fabric, thread and sewing tools, with a promise to repay Cora for the money she would spend to procure these items for her. Assuring Alice that reimbursement was not necessary, her patient adamantly insisted on paying her debt and Cora smiled when she read the handwritten IOU which promised payment of three farthings and a ha'penny as soon as the funds were available.

After diligently working on the shirt over the past two and a half days, it was now nearly finished and Alice took a break from her sewing to admire it. Running her hand over the dark blue calico fabric with tiny pale blue flowers printed all over it, she smiled dreamily to herself as she pictured Uncas wearing it.

"You're going to look _so_ handsome in this shirt. I cannot _wait_ to see it on you." she said. "And I'm glad Dr. Van Houten suggested I attach these blue and white ribbons to it. It makes the shirt even more becoming."

"It's a beautiful shirt. I'll be proud to wear it! Thank you for making it for me." Uncas acknowledged with a warm smile.

"You're welcome, my love." Contentedly returning to her sewing, Alice glanced back over at Uncas a few minutes later and found him staring off into space.

"You're very quiet this morning. Are you feeling unwell?" she asked.

"No, I feel fine. I've just been laying here thinkin'."

"About what?"

"About this place. The way everything is so strange and different here still bothers me."

"I know. I've tried to ignore it too, but it troubles me as well." replied Alice as she set her sewing on her lap.

"It doesn't make any sense. I've lived out here on the frontier my whole life and I can't think of _anywhere_ there'd be a place like this." Uncas stated as he picked up the breakfast menu from the tray that was still in front of him.

"Glens Falls, New York." he read out loud. "I've never heard of a town by that name and I know _all_ of the settlements in this area because I've either _been_ to them or I've _heard_ about them." he said as he threw the menu back down on the tray. Seeing movement out in the hallway, he watched a nurse walk past their room and nodded in reply to the bright smile she gave him.

"There's something strange about the people here too, and I don't just mean the way they look or talk. Everyone here is so _nice_ to us….._too_ nice, if you ask me! I mean, look at who we are. I'm Mohican….an _Indian_, and you're a well-bred Yengeese woman, the daughter of a British officer. I don't know of _anyone_ who would have accepted our love for each other, let alone allow us to share the same room…but_ they_ do. They've even allowed you to lie in _bed_ with me…._several_ times! Who do_ you_ know that would've let us do something like that?"

"No one."

"Exactly!" said Uncas. "I would have been whipped or even _hung_ for having been found in the same bed with you, but these people don't seem to be bothered by it at all. And another thing. I can understand the doctors taking good care of you and those two keepers of the peace wanting to catch Magua for what he did to you….but why do they care about me? I'm even surprised that whoever found us bothered to _bring_ me here in the _first_ place! Seeing as how I was hurt so bad, any Yengeese who didn't know me would have left me for dead figuring I was gonna die soon anyway, which they probably would've thought I deserved figurin' _I_ was the one who hurt _you."_

"What do you think is going on, Uncas?" asked Alice as an uneasy feeling crept over her.

"I don't know, but I got a feeling they're hiding something from us."

"Hiding what?" she asked.

"Well for one thing, whatever's out there." he replied with a nod toward the outside window on the wall to the left of Alice's bed. "That's a window on that wall. I can tell because I see sunlight shining in around the edges. It's always kept covered with those thin white boards. Why don't they ever take the covering off and let the light in?"

"Perhaps all of the windows are covered in that manner. Except for the room I woke up in, we haven't seen any of the others to know how the windows are kept in them."

"Was the window in that room covered like this one?"

"I confess, I was so frightened at the time that I never noticed it." Alice regretfully replied. "All I wanted was to see you."

"Well I still think there's something out there they don't want us to see."

"Uncas, I don't like this place and for some peculiar reason I feel like we don't belong here. I cannot wait until we can leave here and I've been secretly preparing for that." Alice informed him.

"Preparing how?" he asked.

"Well, you know how I always come over to your bed and watch the nurses when they change your bandages?" she replied while casting a look toward the hallway to make sure no one was in view. Satisfied nobody would see her, she rummaged inside of her sewing basket and removed several unopened packages of bandages.

"Each time, I managed to slip some new bandages under my gown, along with several rolls of this sticky material they call tape and some packets of those medicine cloths they wipe your wounds with. I've also been watching the nurses closely to see how they clean your wounds and how they put the fresh bandages on. I have quite a few supplies hidden in my sewing basket so that I can take care of you after we leave here. Uncas, when do you think we can we go?"

"We'll leave tonight. I feel a lot stronger now and I think I can make it with your help. Do you think you can walk through the forest on your injured leg?"

"I'll manage!" she replied with confidence.

"Then it's settled. We'll wait till after dark when it gets quiet and we'll sneak out of here. We'll travel as far as we can and whenever we can't go any farther, we'll find places to hide while we rest." he told a smiling Alice, who excitedly nodded her head in agreement with the plan.

"Now I just have to figure out how to get all of these vines off of me." Uncas added as he began to study the IV in his hand and the electrodes on his chest.

"We'll need clothes. I'll have your shirt ready for you, but what about your loincloth, leggings and moccasins? Are you still wearing them?" Alice asked him.

"No." he relied. "I'm not wearing _anything._ I don't know _where_ my clothes are."

Remembering all of the times she laid with Uncas in his bed over the past few days, Alice felt a blush heat her cheeks when she thought about how close she came on several occasions to slipping under the blankets with him, not realizing he was naked.

"I don't know where my dress and undergarments are, either." she replied. "All I have is this thin cotton gown and the back hangs wide open."

"We'll look for some clothes while we find our way out of here. Until then, we'll have to wrap these blankets around ourselves. We need to bring them anyway. And keep your eyes open for a knife or a musket. I'm going to need some kind of weapon to protect us."

"What will we do for food? You're in no condition to hunt." she asked.

"No, I'm not. But I can make snares, which means you'll have to settle for eating rabbits and squirrels, and there'll be roots and berries too. Don't worry, Alice. We'll be fine. I'm gonna get you outta here like I promised. Now, let me see if I can figure out how these vines are attached." said Uncas as he began to nudge one of the white electrode patches with the tip of his thumb.

"Uncas, _please_ be careful! That…._thing_ is somehow attached to your heart. You don't know what will happen if you take those off!" said Alice as she quickly got out of bed and limped over to his side. Taking her trembling hand into his, he gazed into her eyes which were filled with fear and gave her a warm, reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine. If I feel anything happening I'll stop. Alright?"

"But…"

"But nothing. I have to take them off. I can't drag this thing with me when we leave here tonight." he said as he jerked his head toward the monitor. "I'll be careful, I promise."

Kissing the back of her hand before letting go of it, Uncas reached up and had just begun to once again pick at the edge of the electrode patch with his finger when a voice called out from the doorway.

_"Well, good morning you two!" _

* * *

Quickly pretending to casually scratch his chest near the edge of the patch, Uncas returned the greeting as Norman, Richard and Cora walked into the room.

"Mornin'."

"How's my patient doing this fine day?" Norman cheerfully asked Uncas, having agreed along with his colleagues to maintain an upbeat manner throughout the couple's transfer to alleviate any stress it might cause them.

"I'm fine." Uncas replied.

"And how are you feeling, Alice?" Richard asked her in an equally cheerful manner as Uncas took hold of her hand again.

"I am quite well, thank you. And yourself?" she politely inquired.

"Never better!" replied Richard.

"We have some good news for the both of you." Norman announced with a big smile. "Since Uncas is now well on the road to recovery, there's no need for him to stay in the Intensive Care Unit any longer, so we're going to get the two of you out of here today and move you downstairs to the Inpatient Unit."

"If I'm getting better, why do we still have to stay here? Why can't we just leave?" asked Uncas, who made no effort to hide his distrust.

"Uncas, I understand that you and Alice are eager to leave the hospital and go home, and I can't blame you. I wouldn't want to stay here either, _nobody_ does. But the plain truth is, you almost died a few days ago from those wounds and while you _are_ getting better, you're still weak and you still need rest and medical attention." replied Norman.

"So when _can_ we leave here." Uncas asked him point blank.

"Maybe in a few more days. We'll see how you're doing then." said Norman, who fought hard to remain cheerful and upbeat as his gut twisted in a knot at the thought of the fate that awaited this young couple if someone didn't come forward soon to take custody of them.

"Now, let's get you ready for the big move! I noticed when we came in you were scratching near that electrode patch. Is it starting to itch?"

"A little."

"Well, then you'll be happy to know that you don't need to be on the heart monitor anymore, which means you can say goodbye to these." Norman replied as he tapped one of the patches and nodded at Richard, who was standing next to the monitor behind Alice. "Now, let's get you disconnected from this contraption."

Unaware that Richard had turned off the monitor, Alice's eyes were riveted on what Norman was doing and she gasped in fear when he pulled the first two patches off of Uncas' chest at the same time. Repeating the action, Norman removed the remaining patches and Alice was immediately relieved when nothing happened to Uncas as a result. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched one of the round red marks on his skin where one of the patches had been.

"Those marks are only temporary. They're from the adhesive….uh, the glue…that held the patches in place. They should be gone by tomorrow." Norman explained.

"You mean nothing was inside of me? Those vines were just stuck to me like the bandages are?" asked a surprised Uncas.

"Yup! Just like the bandages. Now this IV however_ is_ inside of you, so I need you to keep your hand still while I remove it, ok? Alice, would you like to help me?" Norman asked, hoping that giving her something to do would distract the nervous young woman from what he was doing to her boyfriend.

"Yes! I'll do anything to help!" she said with a quivering voice.

"Good! This tube contains a cream that has medicine in it to help make those red marks on Uncas go away. Just put a little dab on your finger and gently rub it on him like this." Norman demonstrated before handing Alice the tube of hydrocortisone.

Grateful to be able to help Uncas, Alice tenderly applied the medicated cream to his chest while Norman proceeded with removing the IV. Casting a quick glance at his patient while he worked, Norman saw that even though Uncas was closely watching the procedure, he was noticeably relaxed from Alice's ministerings, which Cora and Richard took note of as well. After he finished, Norman taped a folded gauze pad to the back of Uncas' hand where the catheter had been inserted and stood up with a satisfied smile.

"I'll bet you're happy to be free from all of those vines!" said Norman, who used his patient's description of the IV tubing and monitor leads. "Now all we have to do is wait for the orderlies to arrive with a wheelchair for Alice and a gurney for you and we'll roll the two of you downstairs to your new room."

"You're going to roll us down a flight of stairs?" asked a skeptical Alice.

"Not literally. We'll take you down there in an elevator." replied Richard, who then had to try his best to describe what an elevator was.

After Richard finished giving his explanation to the perplexed couple, Cora stepped forward with two large department store bags and gave one to each of them.

"What's this?" asked Uncas.

"It's a little present I bought for each of you. Even though Alice hasn't said a word of complaint, I know she is very uncomfortable wearing that hospital gown and you, young man, would no doubt be equally uncomfortable having to wear one as well. So….I decided to remedy the situation. Go ahead, open the bags." Cora encouraged them.

Peering inside of her bag, Alice let out a surprised gasp as she removed a Vintage-style cream colored nightgown with long sleeves and pink, yellow and blue flowers embroidered around the rounded neckline. Seeing there was more inside the bag, she next removed a pale pink terrycloth bathrobe and a pair of plush, pink bootie slippers.

"Uncas, look! Oh, it's all so pretty. _Thank_ you, Dr. Van Houten!" she said with a brilliant smile lighting up her face.

"You're very welcome." replied Cora.

"What is in your bag, Uncas?" asked Alice, who was eager to see what Cora had bought for him.

Unsure of why a doctor who hardly knew them would give them such gifts, Uncas was nevertheless grateful that Alice had some decent clothes to wear and he curiously looked in his bag to see what he'd been given. Reaching inside, he pulled out a pair of flannel pajamas printed in a blackwatch tartan, a navy blue terrycloth bathrobe and a pair of over-the-ankle suede slippers with a shearling lining.

"Thank you for getting me these clothes. I really appreciate it." said Uncas as he studied one of his slippers. "I've never seen moccasins like these before…or like Alice's. What tribe are they from?"

"They're not moccasins Uncas, although they are similar. They're called slippers and people wear them inside the house instead of shoes when they want to be comfortable." explained Cora, who was feeling herself becoming more and more attached to her two patients the more she interacted with them. "Now, let's get the two of you dressed." she suggested.

"Those orderlies will be here any minute!"

* * *

_"All aboard!"_

Standing next to the elevator door as it slid open, Norman reached inside and pressed the 'hold door' button on the control panel. During the walk from their ICU room to the elevator, he could see Alice was anxious by the look on her face and by the white knuckle grip she had on the arms of the wheelchair. Glancing over at Uncas, he saw the usual stoic expression on the young man's face as he reclined on the gurney, but he knew that look was only a mask he used to hide his nervousness and he decided the best way to ease the couple's fears would be to make this strange new situation as much fun as possible. Now, as he watched one of the orderlies pull Alice's wheelchair backward into the elevator beside Uncas, he could tell by the way she quickly reached up to clasp his hand and by the way he squeezed hers that their anxiety was mounting.

"Ok, now when this door closes, it's going to feel a little snug and cozy in here, then you'll feel the elevator move as we go down.…"

"How long is this going to take?" Uncas rapidly asked as he cut the doctor off in mid sentence.

"Less than a minute. It'll be over before you know it." Norman reassured him as he took note of Uncas' rapid breathing. "Try to relax, buddy. It's ok. You and Alice are _not_ alone in here, we're _all_ taking this same ride with you."

Shooting quick looks around the tiny metal enclosed room whose ceiling emitted a strange muted light, Uncas listened to what Norman said and looked at the calm, smiling faces of the three doctors and the two male orderlies. Seeing as how they didn't appear to feel they were in any danger, he took as deep a breath as his broken ribs would allow and let it back out again as he fought back the claustrophobic reaction that gripped him. Feeling a hand touch his arm, he turned and looked up into Cora's smiling face.

"It's alright, Uncas. I felt much the same way when I took my first elevator ride, but now I don't give it a second thought. Once it's all over, you'll see there was nothing to it."

"Ok, passengers, we are now departing the fourth floor ICU! Next stop, the third floor Inpatient Unit! Gooooing _down!_" Norman said playfully in his best conductor's voice as he pressed two more buttons on the control panel.

Trying to remain calm as he watched their only means of escape seal itself shut, Uncas felt Alice tighten her grip on his hand and he heard her give a little cry when the metal box began to move. Looking into her panic filled eyes, he knew he had to put aside his own fears and be strong for her, and he gave her a warm smile to reassure her. Then, as suddenly as the box began moving, it stopped and the young couple gave a collective sigh of relief when the two sections of metal wall that had closed themselves only moments ago slid open again.

_"All ashore that's going ashore!"_ Norman announced as he once again pressed the 'hold door' button.

Staring in amazement as the orderly pushed his gurney out of the elevator and began moving him down the hallway, Uncas took in the different appearance of the third floor and tried to make sense out of everything that just happened.

"When we went on that…elevator…we were up there?" he asked as he pointed toward the ceiling.

"That's right!" replied Cora.

"And now we're underneath where we were before?"

"Yes, we are! In no time at all we went from one floor to another without needing to use the stairway."

"And that…elevator…it goes back up there again?"

"It'll take you up or down to _all_ the floors in the building."

"Huh! If such things exist, why didn't the British put an elevator in Fort William Henry? It would have made it a lot easier for the gun crews to move the cannons on and off the parapet." said Uncas.

"Yes. I suppose it would have." replied Cora, who could not help but feel disappointed that a common thing like an elevator ride sparked no memory at all in Uncas. Taking a close look at Alice, Cora could see no evidence of recognition in her either as the frightened young woman once again reached for Uncas' hand and held it tightly in her own.

After going down a series of long windowless hallways, the little group passed through a set of large double doors and entered the Inpatient Unit. Peering into the patients' rooms as they were pushed past them, Uncas and Alice saw that most of the beds in them were occupied but had no time to take stock of any other details. Finally, they came to a stop and were moved one at a time into a room that was halfway down the hallway.

"Well, here we are! Welcome to your new room! Uncas, which bed would you like to have?" Cora asked, curious to see if her hunch was right about which bed he'd choose.

Assessing the room, Uncas saw that it was smaller than the one in the ICU, yet was still roomy enough to accommodate two beds, two bedside tables and several chairs. He also noted that the bed on the far side of the room would not only afford him a clear view out the door to the hallway, it was also next to what he assumed was a window, which this time was covered by a heavy drapery that completely blocked out the sunlight.

"I'll take that one." he said, with a nod toward the bed by the window.

"I thought you might." replied Cora, whose theory had just been confirmed. "Alice? Are you ok with taking the bed in the corner by the bathroom wall? You won't be able to see out into the hallway."

"Yes, this bed will do quite nicely. I prefer the privacy the wall will provide me." she replied.

"I guess it _was_ like living in a fishbowl up in the ICU, what with the large open door and that big window to the hallway. I suppose I'd want some privacy too after that." Cora said softly as she tenderly brushed Alice's cheek with the back of her fingers.

"So, now that the sleeping arrangements have been decided, let's get the two of you tucked into bed."

* * *

"That was really nice of you to buy them that sleepwear, Cora. I'm sure they'll both feel more comfortable now."

Standing at the nurses' station with her two colleagues, a visibly dejected Cora managed to smile at Richard's compliment.

"Thanks Richard, but I have to confess, comfort was only one of the reasons I got it for them. The other was that I was hoping something about the clothes might seem familiar to them, but I didn't see a glimmer of recognition in either of them."

"Oh, I don't know." replied Norman. "I'll admit Uncas was completely baffled by the pajamas and robe, but Alice immediately recognized _her_ things for what they were."

"Well of course she would and that was my mistake. A well-bred woman who lived back in 1757 would have worn a nightgown and robe very similar to the ones I bought her, which is why I got them in the first place. I thought under the circumstances she'd feel more comfortable in them instead of sleep pants and a camisole or tee shirt, which is probably what she used to wear before the attack. What I was hoping was that the fabric her things were made of would be familiar to her, but instead she was _fascinated_ by how foreign it was."

"I thought it was kinda cute the way she kept rubbing her fuzzy slipper against the side of her face." Richard said with a chuckle. "She couldn't get over how soft it was. Since she can only wear one of them while she has that leg brace on, she kept cuddling the extra one like it was a teddy bear. I wonder if she'd like to have one."

"I'm sure she'd love to have a teddy bear." replied Cora.

"There's something else bothering you, Cora. What is it?" asked Norman.

"Oh, I'm just hoping it wasn't a bad idea to give them those clothes."

"Why?"

"Because I think they _are _planning to make a run for it the first chance they get."

_"What!" _Richard exclaimed.

"Why makes you think that?" asked Norman.

"It's all beginning to add up." said Cora. "The morning Uncas regained consciousness, Alice asked if I could get her some fabric and sewing supplies so that she could make him a shirt to replace the one he'd been wearing the day of the attack. At the time I didn't think anything of it and I just assumed she was bored and was looking for a useful way to pass the time by making something for her boyfriend, so I got her the things she wanted. That evening, one of the nurses told me that earlier, while she was changing Uncas' dressings, Alice came over to watch and she saw her slip several packages of bandages under her gown when she thought the nurse wasn't looking. Since I had previously warned the staff to ignore any unusual behavior the two of them might display and report it directly to me, the nurse let Alice think she'd gotten away with it. I then advised the staff to be discreet in watching her and to inventory the medical supplies before and after they changed Uncas' dressings so that we'd know what she took. As of today our resourceful little Alice has managed to squirrel away quite a tidy supply of bandages, tape and medicated cleaning pads, and she even pinched that tube of hydrocortisone this morning, which I saw her put in her sewing basket with the rest of her stash."

"Do you mean that basket I carried down here for her just now is full of stolen medical supplies?" Richard exclaimed in dismay.

"Yep. I think she's stockpiling those supplies and watching the nurses change Uncas' bandages so that she'll be able to take care of him after they leave here, and she made him that shirt so he'd have something to wear." Cora replied. "Up until now, it was only a suspicion that I had. But after having quietly observed the two of them from the moment we entered their room in the ICU earlier, my suspicions have gotten stronger. Uncas wasn't scratching himself when we walked in the door. He was picking at that electrode patch and I'd be willing to bet he was trying to remove it. And did either of you notice how disappointed they both were when Norman told them they still have to stay here for a while? From day one they haven't accepted their being here and they want out. That's why I began to have second thoughts about giving them the sleepwear, thinking that keeping them in hospital gowns might dissuade them from trying to leave."

"Then why did you give them the clothes?" Richard asked.

"Because they've been through so much and they've been so scared and unhappy ever since they arrived here. I just wanted them to feel more comfortable and at ease…._and_ I know that if they are _that_ determined to leave, they'll find a way around a lack of clothing. If they _do_ somehow manage to slip out of here, it's going to be _enough_ of a shock to them when they see what's outside." replied Cora, who paused to give a deep sigh.

"I don't want them to feel humiliated in those damn hospital gowns on top of that."

* * *

"Why did they give us coats to wear when we're inside?"

Sitting in his bed as he pondered the strange clothing they'd been given, Uncas had to admit to himself he did feel much better now that he was no longer naked and the fortuitous gifts solved the problem of their lack of clothing for their planned escape later that night.

"They're not coats, Uncas. They're called robes and you wear them over your bedclothes to cover yourself when you get out of bed." said Alice, who thought he looked quite handsome in his new pajamas and slippers.

"Father was right when he said the Yengeese were a breed apart and made no sense….no offence, miss."

"None taken, sir. After being in _this_ place, I tend to _agree_ with him. Uncas, what are you doing?"

Removing the sling he was wearing, Uncas set it on the bed beside him and tried to move his right arm away from his body. Feeling a searing pain shoot through his shoulder, he clenched his teeth and groaned as he grabbed hold of his bicep with his other hand and pressed the injured arm to his side as he threw his head back against the pillow.

_"Uncas!_ Are you alright?" cried Alice. With his teeth still clenched, Uncas continued to hug his right arm to his body while breathing hard as he waited for the pain to subside.

"Yeah….I'm fine….I thought I might….be able to move my arm…..but I can't." he said between breaths.

"Dr. Harris said you'll regain full use of your arm again, but that it's going to take time because your shoulder must heal first."

"We don't _have_ time, Alice. When we leave this place tonight, we'll be _back_ in the wilderness and as far as I know we're still near Huron lands. I _need_ to be able to defend us and find food till we can find my father and brother." stated Uncas.

Turning his attention to the door, he began to keep the hallway under surveillance and after several minutes went by, his immediate observations showed that, unlike the ICU, there was very little activity outside of their room. Hoping it would be even quieter at night after everyone was asleep, he began to feel optimistic about their upcoming escape.

"We've got a long night ahead of us, Alice. It's gonna be late when we leave here and we've got to put as much distance as we can between us and this place after we do, so we should each try to get some sleep later. And I think we should take turns when we do, so that one of us will always be awake to keep watch. But right now, I need to see what's outside that window so I'll know which way to go when we get out there. Can you help me?"

Eager to help in any way she could, Alice quickly got up and limped around to the side of his bed which was near the window. Knowing his healing wounds and broken ribs were still painful and made moving difficult for him, she raised the back of his bed to a fully upright position to make getting up easier for him. As she stood ready to assist him, Uncas was just about to swing his legs over the side of the bed when both of them jumped at the sound of the long-wailing scream of an ambulance that was approaching the hospital.

"Dear merciful heaven! What was that?" Alice whispered as she stared wide eyed and open mouthed at Uncas.

"I dunno." replied Uncas, who was equally as startled. "I never heard a sound like that before."

"Is it some kind of wild animal?"

"None that _I_ know of. Help me get up."

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Uncas put his good arm around Alice's shoulder as she took hold of his hand and tucked herself up against him while putting her arm around his back, doing her best to avoid the wound on his side. Sliding himself off the bed, he attempted to stand for the first time since the attack and discovered he was still extremely weak. Feeling his legs about to give out from under him, he leaned heavily on Alice and grabbed hold of the bedside table with his right hand, causing another wave of searing pain to shoot through his shoulder. Staggering under his weight, Alice pushed her body against his and managed to support him while he let go of the table and steadied himself. Panting from the exertion, he took several shaky steps over to the window and paused briefly to catch his breath before once again using his right hand to reach for the heavy drapery which covered the window. With one good tug, Uncas pulled back the drapery and gasped at the view which was revealed to him. Hearing his reaction and feeling his body begin to tremble, Alice turned toward the window and let out a scream when she beheld the world that lay before her.

Gone was the wilderness they had both expected to see and in its place was a modern 21st century street. With the window of their room overlooking the main entrance of the hospital and emergency room, a varied assortment of cars, trucks and suv's were visible in the hospital's parking lot directly below them while other vehicles moved about on the paved street. Across that street, several medical offices and small business lined the opposite side of the busy boulevard and a traffic light changed from red to green at a nearby intersection.

Frozen in place from a mixture of shock, confusion and fear, Uncas protectively put his arms around Alice and held her tightly to his body as she buried her face against his chest and cried. Unable to pull his eyes away from the scene outside the window, he swallowed hard and stared in disbelief at the alien world that laid before him.

"What_ is_ that out there?" he whispered as he held Alice's face against his chest.

_"Where are we?"_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, it looks like the nightmare has taken a turn for the worst for Uncas and Alice. Now that the truth has been revealed to our favorite couple, how are they going to handle it and what's going to happen to them now? Stay tuned, everyone!

I have to admit, this story is proving to be a real challenge for me because I have to write three different kinds of dialog: one for the modern world characters, one for a well-bred 18th century English woman and one for an 18th century English speaking Mohican who had some formal schooling and has interacted quite a bit with the whiteman. In addition to that, I have to try and get inside Uncas and Alice's heads in order to see this modern world from their point of view and to describe their perception of it. Believe me, it's not easy! It's also part of the reason these chapters are taking me longer to write, that and the fact that the chapters have been turning out to be longer than I expected them to be.

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to follow this story and I would also like to give a special thank you to those of you who have written reviews, which I really look forward to receiving as it helps me to become a better writer and to know I am taking the story in the right direction. Thank you! MohawkWoman :)


	5. Chapter 5: A Wily Fox

**Chapter 5: A Wily Fox**

_"__Doctors! Come quickly!"_

Having heard the piercing scream of a woman, a nurse ran out of a nearby patient room in response to the sound and stopped in front of the room the scream had come from. Quickly assessing the situation inside, she called out to the three doctors standing at the nurses station.

Signing off on Uncas and Alice's charts before giving them to the unit secretary to be filed; Cora, Norman and Richard each gave a start when they heard the scream and knew who it had come from before they looked to see which room the nurse was standing in front of. Racing down the hall, they came to a halt in the doorway when they saw the trembling couple inside standing in front of the room's now uncovered window.

"Hold it Richard." Cora whispered as she held out her hand to stop him from rushing to his terrified patient, who was crying uncontrollably in her boyfriend's arms. "We need to go in there _very_ slowly."

"Get two doses of Lorazepam and stay out here with it." Norman instructed one of the nurses. "And keep it out of sight so he doesn't see it."

Staring out the window while still holding Alice, Uncas quickly turned his head toward the door when movement caught his eye. Seeing the three doctors inching their way into the room, he defensively placed himself between them and Alice and tightened his hold on her.

_"__GET BACK! STAY AWAY FROM US!"_ he shouted angrily, at the same time quickly checking to see if any of them were holding a hypodermic needle.

"It's alright, Uncas. No one here is going to hurt you." Cora said in a soft, calm voice as she and the two men immediately came to a halt. Keeping her hands in plain view to show him she wasn't holding anything, she slowly took another tentative step forward.

_"__I said get BACK!"_

"Uncas. I know you're very upset right now. You and Alice just had a terrible shock and I can't even begin to imagine what the two of you are feeling right now. When you calm down, I promise I'll explain everything." she said.

Seeing Uncas take a slight step to steady himself as his legs began to shake, Norman knew he was too weak to stand up for much longer and, becoming increasingly concerned for his patient, he decided to try and persuade him to lie down.

"Uncas. I know you and Alice are scared out of your wits and that we're the last people on earth that you trust right now, but Dr. Van Houten is right. We're _not_ here to hurt you." he said as Uncas staggered slightly and grabbed hold of the windowsill to keep from falling.

"Look buddy, why don't you lie down? This is the first time you've been out of bed since you got here and I know you can't stand up much longer. You're only going to upset Alice even more if you fall down. You're all she has right now…she _needs_ you. Come on, lie down. I promise, we're not going to try anything."

Feeling himself growing weaker by the minute, Uncas knew that Norman was right. Wanting nothing more than to take Alice and get out of this place, he knew in his present condition he could not fight his way past the three doctors, let alone the crowd of nurses, patients and visitors filling the hallway outside the door. Seeing no other alternative but to do as Norman suggested, Uncas gave the three doctors a threatening look as he reluctantly guided Alice over to his bed.

"You _stay back!_ Don't come _near_ us!" he asserted as Alice scrambled onto his bed. Keeping his eyes riveted on the doctors as he eased himself down next to her, he protectively put his arms around her as she once again clung to him.

Pressing her body as close to Uncas as she could, Alice looked over her shoulder and cast fearful glances at the doctors standing a few feet away from the foot of the bed and at the people outside the door. Remembering how the Huron war party had swarmed into the cavern behind the waterfall, she was terrified that a similar event was about to occur with these strange people and she buried her face against Uncas' chest, praying that their lives would be spared.

As though sensing what Alice was thinking, Cora turned and with a faint movement of her head, she silently instructed the nurses to clear the doorway. Catching the gesture, the nurses dispersed the spectators and themselves stepped back, but remained out of sight on either side of the door in case their assistance was needed.

"It's ok, they're all gone now. They were just curious and concerned as to why Alice screamed." Cora said to reassure them they were never in any danger.

"Uncas? I see that you're not wearing your sling. I want to make sure you haven't reinjured yourself. Would it be alright if I take a look at you?" Norman asked.

"You can look at me just fine from over there." Uncas replied.

"Yes, but I can't see your wound from over here. I just want to make sure you're ok."

"My wound is fine. You don't need to see it." Uncas firmly stated.

"Ok. Ok. I'll take your word for it." replied Norman in a placating manner, despite being frustrated that he could not examine his patient for whom he was very concerned. Seeing how emotionally stressed Alice was, Richard's concern for her was also mounting and he was anxious to examine her as well.

"Alice, I know you want to be with Uncas, but I'd like for you to go to your own bed so tha…."

_"__NO!" _she cried out, cutting Richard off in mid sentence as she cowered against Uncas.

"Alice, you can't stay with him. You have to get back into your own bed so you can rest. Come on, I'll help you." said a smiling Richard as he started to slowly approach the couple in order to assist her back to her bed.

_"__YOU LEAVE HER ALONE!_ _If she wants to stay with me, she'll STAY!" _shouted Uncas, who gave Richard a deadly look that made him take a step backward.

"Alright. She can stay with you." replied the shaken doctor. "But only for a little while. Then she _must_ get back into her own bed so that the _both_ of you can rest."

_"__When_ she's ready! _Not_ before!" Uncas firmly stated with the same threatening look.

"Of course." said Cora. "No one is trying to keep the two of you apart. We're only concerned for the both of you after the shock you've just had."

"We're fine. Go away and leave us alone." Uncas said in a normal tone while he stroked Alice's hair.

"Uncas, we only want…"

_"__I SAID GET OUT!"_

* * *

"Jesus!"

Standing in the hallway a few doors away from Uncas and Alice's room, a stunned Norman leaned his back against the wall and rested his head on it as he stared up at the ceiling. Looking at Cora and Richard, he could see they were just as rattled as he was.

"Even in his weakened condition, Uncas is _not_ someone you want to mess with." he said.

_"__That's_ for sure!" Richard concurred. "He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd back down from _anything!_"

"Cora, I need to get back in there and examine Uncas. He's overexerted himself and seeing as how he removed the sling, I'm very concerned he may have done some damage to his shoulder. He was very unsteady on his feet and I _know_ he was using that arm. It's also possible he could have broken some of his other stitches as well."

"I know, Norman. But let's give them a few minutes to calm down first. I need to go in by myself and try to talk to them before we do anything else."

"No way, Cora. With the agitated state Uncas is in, there's no way in _hell_ we're letting you go in there alone with him." Richard emphatically stated.

"Richard's right." said Norman. "I remember how he was when he first regained consciousness and panicked. It took_ six_ of us to hold him down and he was _much_ weaker then than he is now. If he goes off on you, we might not be able to get in there fast enough. He's a big guy, Cora, you won't stand a chance against him by yourself."

"He's not going to go off on me, Norman." said Cora. "He was terrified just now and felt very threatened, what with the three of us in the room and everyone who was clustered outside the door. As soon as the doorway cleared, he became noticeably calmer. Right now, I want to give him some time to settle down. Then I'll go back in by myself so he won't feel like we're ganging up on him. It's important that I talk to the both of them right now and try to help them come to terms with what they just saw."

"Cora, I'd like to take a look at Alice too." said Richard. "That poor girl was an absolute mess. I want to make sure she's ok."

"I'm afraid that's going to be Uncas' call. At this point, I don't even know if he'll allow Norman to come in the room, let alone the both of you. We'll have to see how it goes first. If I feel we've reached a point where they'll allow themselves to be examined, I'll ask their permission to do so. If they continue to refuse, I'll offer a less threatening option and ask if I can perform the examinations myself. I don't think Uncas will feel as vulnerable or threatened if a woman examines him and I have a feeling Alice will be more willing at this point to let me look at her as well." she told the two frustrated doctors.

"Look, we don't have a choice here, gentlemen." she informed them. "We have to proceed in baby steps right now or else Uncas _will_ go off on us. I'm already going to have my hands full with the hospital director as soon as he hears about this incident. I don't want to do anything that might cause another one."

"If that happens, Henderson will immediately have both of them transferred to a psychiatric facility before the day is out."

* * *

"May I come in?"

Holding a food tray laden with three mugs, teabags and a large carafe of hot water, Cora stood in the doorway and waited to see if Uncas would give her permission to enter the room. Upon receiving a faint nod of consent, she slowly went into the room and set the tray down on Alice's overbed table, which was between the far wall and her bed. Remaining in place, she smiled at Uncas and Alice, who were still huddled together in his bed.

"I thought we could all use some tea right about now. I know _I'd_ like a cup. Would either of you like to join me?"

Watching the couple closely as she opened several packets of tea bags and placed them in the carafe to steep, she saw Alice give Uncas a questioning look. Studying Uncas, who had tensed up the minute she came to the door, Cora noticed he had relaxed slightly but still remained on the alert. Looking at Alice for a moment, Uncas returned his attention to Cora and gave another nod.

"We'll let the tea steep for a while. It should be ready in a few minutes. May I sit down?" she politely asked, allowing Uncas to feel in control. Receiving yet another faint nod, Cora looked around at the various seating options in the room.

"Where would you like me to sit?"

"Over there is fine." Uncas replied, speaking for the first time since Cora came in as he quickly shot a look toward Alice's bed.

Expecting him to select the chair that was nearest to the door, she was pleasantly surprised that he was allowing her to sit so close to them and she slowly walked around to the other side of the bed and took her seat on the edge of the mattress.

"Thank you." she said, then paused for a moment to decide how to proceed with this delicate conversation. While she was thinking, Uncas took the initiative to begin the discussion and set the direction it would follow.

"Where are we? What _is_ that out there and why were you hiding it from us?" he demanded.

"That is what the land looks like now, Uncas, and we were only keeping it hidden from you until we felt you and Alice were ready to see it. I wanted to prepare you first for what you would see out there, but I severely underestimated your curiosity and for that I apologize. I never intended to put either of you through a shock like that."

"You still haven't told us where we are. Is this a French settlement? Are we prisoners here?" asked Uncas as he desperately tried to make sense of where they could be.

"No, this is not a French settlement and you certainly are not being held captive." Cora assured him, who as she said it realized that, legally, they _were_ captives in an odd sort of way. "You are about ten miles south of Lake George, in a town that was built around a falls on the Hudson River."

"I know this falls. It's called Chepontuc, which is a name the Mohawk gave it. It means 'hard place to get around' because it blocks the river." said Uncas.

"That's the one." said Cora.

"There's no settlement around that falls! We hid behind it while trying to escape the Huron only a few days ago. There's no settlement _anywhere_ out there, it's just wilderness. Why are you lying to us?" he again demanded.

"I'm _not_ lying to you, Uncas. There_ is_ a settlement there and has been for some time now."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in trepidation.

"Uncas…Alice…what year is this?" Cora asked in a gentle tone, deciding it was time to take things a step further.

"Why do you keep asking that?" said Alice, who released her hold on Uncas so that she could turn and face the doctor. "You asked me that same question when you took me to see Uncas that first day. I thought it was an odd question then and think it's an odd question now."

"I kinda remember someone asking me that too." added Uncas.

"I agree. It_ is_ an odd question, but it's a very important one. Please. Tell me once more what year it is."

"It's 1757." replied Uncas.

"No…it's not. It's the year 2012." said Cora, who then paused to allow the couple to digest this news.

Watching as her patients looked at each other in bewilderment, Cora slowly rose from her seat on the bed and walked back around to the overbed table.

"I think we can all use that tea now." she said.

Filling the three mugs, she brought them over to Uncas' bed. Handing a mug to each of them, she kept the third for herself and resumed her seat on Alice's bed. Taking a sip of her tea, she again observed the couple closely and saw that both of them were looking at her as though she had lost her mind.

"That's insane!"whispered Alice. "You're talking_ nonsense!_ How can the year be 2012? Why that's…."

"Two hundred and fifty five years from what you thought the year was. It's true." said Cora.

"That's impossible." said Uncas. "How could we have travelled to a place so far away?"

"You didn't. You've lived here all along."

"What?" Uncas asked incredulously.

"It's true. Uncas, I want you to think about all of the things you've seen here and the materials they're made out of. Think about how the people look. Is any of it familiar to you?"

"No."

"Alice? Have you ever seen any of this before?" asked Cora.

"No, I have not."

"What about the things you both saw outside that window? Did any of that look familiar?"

"What are you getting at?" asked Uncas.

"I believe the reason this all looks so strange to you is because both of you have forgotten about it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think that what you both experienced up on the Promontory was so terrible, that your minds are dealing with it by blocking out the reality of what happened and who you really are." said Cora, whose explanation resulted in a response of total silence from the couple.

"You don't believe us! You don't believe we're who we say we are. _You think we're crazy!"_ Uncas finally said while looking at Cora as though _she_ were the one who was had lost her mind.

_"__No!"_ she replied emphatically. "I do _not_ believe either of you are crazy! Not for _one_ minute! What I _do_ believe is that you both were severely traumatized when you were attacked and you're just having a hard time facing it."

_"__I KNOW WHO I AM, AND SO DOES SHE!"_ Uncas shouted.

"I want to go home." Alice suddenly whispered.

"And I want to _help_ you to go home, Alice. Can you tell me where your home is?"

"I…I don't know….my...my father is dead…I don't know what happened to my sister and I.…I…don't have a home anymore." Alice said softly as she began to cry.

Setting his mug down on his overbed table, Uncas took Alice's mug out of her hands and set it down beside his, then took her into his arms.

"Yes you do. You have one with me." he said, his voice warm and tender as she pressed her face against his chest.

"What about you, Uncas? Where is your home?" asked Cora.

"I live on the frontier with my father and brother. We travel the land, but we have places where we stay."

"Where _are_ those places?" she asked, hoping the names might give a clue to where his home really was.

"What business is that of yours?" was his brusque reply.

"I just want to know where your father and brother are so that I can tell them you're here."

"Never you _mind_ where they are. I'm not telling you _anything."_ said Uncas, who did not like the questions this nosey Yengeese woman was asking him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It was very rude of me." replied Cora, who decided to take the conversation in a different direction when she saw Uncas was now beginning to shut down on her.

"You know, Dr. Harris and Dr. Spencer are very worried about the two of you. You both had a terrible shock and Uncas, you weren't ready to get out of bed yet. Would it be alright if they examine you to make sure you're both ok?"

"No. We're fine. We don't need any medicine." Uncas stated firmly.

"I _promise_…no needles and no vines."

_"__No!"_

"Uncas, listen to me, please. You love Alice, right?"

"Yes! I do!" he boldly admitted to the doctor to test what her reaction to that statement would be.

"And you care about what happens to her, right?"

"Of _course_ I do!"

"Then please let me check her to make sure she's alright. She can stay right there in the bed with you while I do it. That way you can protect her if you see me doing anything you feel is suspicious. Ok?"

"Ok." he consented after a short pause, having been being caught off guard by what Cora said.

Approaching their bedside, Cora noted to herself that Uncas had used the slang word 'ok' when he spoke just now and she wondered if he had made a slip or if he was simply adopting the word into his vocabulary.

"Thank you." she said in reply as she slowly reached into the pocket of her white lab coat and removed a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope. "I'm sure you recognize these by now."

After checking Alice's blood pressure and taking her pulse, Cora gave her a warm, sisterly smile as she rubbed the side of the young woman's arm.

"Is she alright?" Uncas quietly asked. Looking into his eyes, Cora could see they were full of genuine concern for Alice.

"She's fine." she reassured him. "Now, how about you let me examine you next. I want to make sure _you're_ ok."

"I told you, no!"

"Uncas, _please!"_ Alice implored him. "Let the doctor examine you. I could not bear it if anything happened to you because the doctors didn't know something was wrong."

"Alright." he finally relented for her sake. Moving around to his side of the bed, Cora checked his pulse and blood pressure, then paused before proceeding further.

"I need to unbutton your pajama top so I can check your wounds." she said. Receiving a nod, she unfastened the buttons and spread the top open. Placing the headset of the stethoscope in her ears, she began to move toward him with the chestpiece when he unexpectedly made a lightning fast move and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing? I thought you were going to check my wounds?"

"I am. But I also want to listen to your heart."

"Why?"

"Because you did too much moving around too soon. I want to make sure you're ok."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Uncas. You nearly died just a few short days ago and I don't think you fully understand how close you came to doing that. When you arrived here, your heartbeat was very weak and irregular from loss of blood and Dr. Harris had to work very hard to save your life. That's why he had you on that monitor that made the beeping sound, so that he could make sure your heart was ok after all the trauma your body went through. But you're not on that monitor now, so I need to do it this way."

Feeling a gentle hand on his arm, Uncas turned toward Alice and found her looking up at him with frightened eyes. With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the pillow as he released Cora's wrist. After listening to his chest, Cora straightened up and put the stethoscope back into her pocket, then gave a worried Alice a reassuring smile.

"His heartbeat's strong and steady. He's fine!"

"Told you I was." Uncas mumbled, disgusted with himself that he'd been bested by two women.

After having checked the wounds on his side and lower chest to make sure he hadn't broken any stitches, Cora then examined the wound on his shoulder.

"How do your ribs feel?" she asked him as she peeled back the bandage and saw that the stitches were intact.

"They're no more sore than usual."

"That's good. Does it hurt when I press around the wound?"

"Nope."

"Excellent!" Cora replied as she reattached the bandage. Buttoning up his pajama top again, she then picked up the sling that had at some point been kicked to the foot of the bed.

"Well, I'm happy to say that you appear to be none the worse for wear, but you do need to put this sling back on."

"I'm fine without it." he replied, hating the way the sling restricted his movement, while at the same time having to admit to himself that his shoulder did feel better when he wore it.

"Uncas, I'm sure you must have moved your arm when you got out of bed earlier and in doing so, you used muscles and tendons that haven't healed enough for such activity. You don't want to risk doing anything to your shoulder that will prevent you from regaining full use of it, do you?"

"No."

"Then you _must _wear the sling so you can heal properly." Cora stated firmly, not allowing him any room for discussion.

"Come on. I'll help you put it on."

* * *

"I am _impressed!"_

Gathered once again in front of the nurses station, Norman complimented Cora as he and Richard waited for her to fill them in on her talk with Uncas and Alice. Having stood in the hall, out of sight on either side of the door in case their help was needed, they had heard the conversation inside but were unable to see what the couple's physical reactions had been.

"Thank you, Norman. All things considered, I think it went pretty well." replied Cora.

"I have to admit, when he shouted at you after you broke the news about what year it was, I thought we were going to have our hands full again, but you diffused the situation like a pro." added Richard.

"Alice inadvertently helped with that when she immediately said she wanted to go home. By doing so, she distracted him and it calmed him right down, and it was only because of her that Uncas let me examine him later. Both of them are very much afraid for the other's health and safety. It's clear to me that those two are very deeply in love with each other…and it's a _genuine_ love, not an imagined one brought on by the attack."

"How do you think they're handling the truth about being in the 21st century?" asked Norman.

"It's too soon to say, but they took the news much better than I thought they would, especially Uncas. He was much calmer than I expected him to be and he didn't put up nearly as much resistance to what I was saying as I thought he would. Alice, on the other hand, was far too upset at this point for me to get any indication of what she was thinking. All she did was cling to Uncas for comfort and support. So while neither of them has accepted where they are yet, they can't deny the facts anymore now that they've seen the outside world from their window." said Cora.

"Do you think there was any truth to what Alice said about her father being dead and not knowing where her sister is?" Richard asked.

"What she said was too vague to know if it's true or not. She could be referring to the real Alice's family situation at the time when the incident with Magua took place on the cliff, or she could be referring to her own personal family. I'll have to work more with her to find out."

"It's too bad Uncas shut down when you asked him about_ his_ family and where _he _lived. He's going to be a hard one to work with." said a disappointed Norman.

"On the contrary! I think he shut down because he's starting to remember who he is and it frightens him. With a little more time and a lot of patience, I think he'll be the first one that I can get through to." said a very optimistic Cora. "Alice is the one I suspect will be harder to reach."

"I'm hoping Uncas will be able to help me with her."

* * *

"Mmmm…."

Lying in his hospital bed, Uncas glanced down at an emotionally drained Alice, who murmured in her sleep as she moved slightly and nuzzled her face against the pillow as she laid beside him. Keeping watch while she slept, he finished off the last of the tea which Cora conveniently placed next to the bed before she left and thought about the conversation he and Alice had with her earlier that morning. Unable to comprehend what Cora had told them, the only logical explanation he could come up with was that when they were found, they were taken to some strange isolated settlement secluded somewhere in the wilderness. Recalling his father once telling him and his brother, Nathaniel, that there were small settlements scattered about the frontier in which people lived very different lives from the rest of the Yengeese, he concluded that this must be one of those settlements. Then suddenly, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when he remembered that the Yengeese soldiers at the fort were going to hang Nathaniel for sedition and he began to suspect all of this was a trap, and that he and Alice were being used as bait to recapture him. Watching a nurse walk past the door, he knew it was more important than ever that he and Alice leave this place and he decided to continue with their planned escape that night.

Quietly slipping out of bed so as not to wake Alice, he stood for a moment to test his strength before going to the window again. Feeling much stronger than he did when he got up earlier, he went over to the window which now had the curtains pulled back and began to study the surrounding area. Locating the north by the position of the sun and recognizing the mountain ranges in the distance, he chose the direction they would take after they were free of the building.

Knowing the importance of blending in with the other settlers, he next turned his attention to the street below and began to study the people and how they were dressed. Not seeing anyone dressed in the type of clothing he and Alice were wearing, he remembered her describing what they had on as being bedclothes and he decided they would still have to somehow find other clothing to wear before they left so as not to attract any attention to themselves.

* * *

"Do you think it's safe to eat the food?"

Staring at the roast turkey and mashed potatoes on the plate before her, a hungry Alice wondered if they could trust the food they'd been served for lunch. Turning to Uncas, she saw that he was already tucking into the baked chicken and sweet potatoes on his own plate, and she gingerly speared a baby carrot with her fork.

"It's safe." he assured her around a mouthful of food. "They're not gonna to try to poison us."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, if I'm right about them wanting to trap Nathaniel and turn him over to the Yengeese soldiers, they're gonna need us alive to do it. That's why Dr. Harris worked so hard to save my life and I'll bet that's why they've allowed us to stay together like this, because they need to keep us in one place. Besides, I can't promise we'll be able to find any food to take with us, so we need to eat all we can before we leave here."

Spooning up a mouthful of corn as he contemplated whether to wait until he finished his meal before starting on the tempting slice of apple pie, Uncas glance up when a very young nurse walked into the room.

"Hey you two, how's your lunch?" she cheerfully asked them.

"It's very good." replied Alice as she wiped some gravy off her lip with her napkin. Giving the nurse a polite smile, she realized it was a wasted effort when she saw the nurse had completely focused her attention solely on Uncas.

"The apple pie here is pretty good, but_ nothing_ beats the one my mom makes." said the nurse after she caught Uncas in the act of eating his pie with his meal instead of afterward for dessert. _"Her_ apple pie took first place at the county fair last year! If she bakes one, I'll smuggle a slice in for you if you want?"

Smiling and nodding at the nurse's offer, Uncas noticed she kept staring at him with a silly grin on her face. Casting a quick glance at Alice, he saw by the stormy look on_ her _face that _she_ noticed it as well.

"So um, can I get you anything? Do you need water or extra napkins?" she asked Uncas, on whom her attention was so completely focused, she did not seem to notice Alice at all.

"Uh no, I'm fine." Uncas replied while reaching behind him to readjust his pillow.

"Here, let me help you!" the nurse offered, darting quickly to his bedside to fluff his pillow and reposition it. "These pillows always slide down when you're sitting up in bed. There! Is that better?"

"Much better. Thank you, miss." he replied. Still standing beside him, the nurse removed her hands from the pillow and briefly placed them on his shoulder before she reluctantly backed away from the bed.

"Well, I better get on with my rounds." she said while still maintaining eye contact with Uncas. "If you need anything….anything at all, just call and I'll come right away. Ok?"

"Ok." he said softly as he gave her a little smile. After the nurse had left the room, Uncas excitedly turned toward Alice to tell her something.

"Have you noticed…what's the matter?" he asked when he saw her glaring at the doorway.

"Can I_ get_ you anything? Water? Napkins? Here, let me fluff your pillow for you!_"_ Alice said in a sarcastic imitation of the nurse. "I might as well have been bloody _invisible! _And _you!_ _ You _were enjoying every _minute_ of it!"

"It was all part of my plan." he said. "That's what I was about to tell you."

"A _plan!_ Oh, I cannot _wait_ to hear it!"

Choosing to ignore her jealousy, he went on with relaying his observations and the idea that resulted from them.

"I've been watching what goes on around this place all morning and one of the things I've noticed is that every hour, _right_ onthe hour, that nurse comes in here to see how we're doing. I know because I look at the clock on the wall every time she comes in. Look! It's just a few minutes after the noon hour."

"You're right! Now that you mention it, I've noticed that a few times as well. But how is that information useful to us?" asked Alice, who by now had forgotten about her jealousy.

"Because that helps me to know when to make a run for it tonight. You know how I've been getting up and standing in the doorway? It's partly to get myself used to being out of bed so I can be ready for our escape, but it's also to watch what goes on out there in that hallway. It's pretty quiet. Not like it was outside that other room we were in. And I'm willing to bet that, just like the other place, it's gonna get even quieter tonight. I need to know if there will be someone looking in on us all night like they are now."

"So what is your plan?"

"My plan is to wait for that nurse to come back. All morning, she's been the one who comes in here."

"I'm _aware_ of that."

"Father always said that when you're fighting your enemy, you must look for his weaknesses and use them to your advantage. That's what I'm gonna do with her. I think she likes me, so when she comes back in an hour to check on me…us...again, I'm gonna see if I can use her interest in me to get her to tell me if what I'm thinking is right." he said with a sly grin.

"Your father is a wise man. You learned well from him. But Uncas? How did you learn how to tell time?" asked a curious Alice.

"From a friend named Jack Winthrop. He taught me on a pocket watch his father gave him last year." replied Uncas.

"I'm glad I paid attention to the lesson."

* * *

_"__Ahem!"_

As the time grew closer to the hour, Alice curled up on her right side in her bed and waited for her cue. Keeping a close eye on the door from his own bed, Uncas watched for the young nurse to appear and as she walked into the room just a few minutes after one o'clock, he cleared his throat in a prearrange signal to his co-conspirator. Receiving the signal, Alice quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep as Uncas glanced up at the clock to confirm the time.

"Hi!" the nurse greeted him. Upon seeing that her handsome patient's roommate was apparently asleep, she merrily made her way over to his bed, happy to more or less have him all to herself for a little while.

"I heard you clearing your throat when I came in. Can I get you some water?" she asked in a low voice so as not to wake Alice, who was surreptitiously watching the proceedings through cracked eyelids.

"No, I'm fine…but I _am_ glad you're here." he replied with a relieved look in his eyes.

"You are?"

"Yeah, I am. I need your help." he said, putting an inviting tone in his deep voice.

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's sore near my shoulder wound. Could you look at it for me? Make sure everything's alright?" he asked while making himself appear as vulnerable as possible.

"Of course!" she readily agreed.

Moving around to the left side of his bed, she proceeded to unbutton Uncas' pajama top and spread it apart. As she did so, Uncas purposely took slow and deep breaths and he knew his scheme was working when he saw she could not take her eyes off his now exposed chest. Realizing she was staring at Uncas' body, the nurse took a deep breath and blinked several times as she forced herself to focus on tending to her patient instead of gawking at him.

"Ok, um…why don't you show me where it hurts?" she suggested after she peeled off the bandage.

"Ok."

Taking hold of her hand, he pressed it against his chest on the area below his wound. Noticing that she was breathing in short, rapid breathes, he decided to proceed with manipulating her into giving him the information he was after without her realizing she was doing it.

"What's your name?" he asked her while slowly trailing his hand along the back of her wrist as he let go of her hand.

"Um…it's Lisa." she replied as she felt around in the area he'd indicated was hurting him.

"You're very good at what you do, but I think you're working much too _hard._ You're _always_ coming in here to look in on me. You shouldn't trouble yourself so much."

"Ohh, you're so sweet!" she replied. "But I'm just making the normal hourly rounds that all of the nurses make to check on their patients. Does it hurt when I touch here?" she asked as she pressed near the stitches.

"No, it hurts here. You mean you and the other nurses have to do this all _night?" _he asked as he repositioned her hand back to its original location. Feeling his nipple touching her palm, she felt herself quiver as she looked up and gazed into the most beautiful brown eyes she'd ever seen.

"No, not all night. Only until eleven pm. After that, the night shift does _their_ patient rounds every _two_ hours." she told him, unwittingly giving him the exact information he was after. Realizing she was straying from the task at hand, she attempted to refocus yet again.

"Um…did it hurt when I pressed on you?" she asked while still staring into his eyes.

"No. It made it feel better. Thank you, miss." he replied, eager to put an end to this unpleasant task and have her leave now that he had received the information he was looking for.

"Lisa." she reminded him as she began to massage the 'sore' area on his chest with her fingertips. "I think you probably just pulled a muscle when you got out of bed earlier. I'll tell Dr. Harris you were in pain."

"No, don't do that. I'll tell him myself when he comes to see me later. Right now I'm really tired and I just want to sleep for a while." he said, wondering to himself how he was going to get rid of this love-sick nurse he'd created, who was giving no indication she was leaving any time soon.

"I guess you should put the bandage back on. You must have other patients who are waiting for you." he suggested as a hint for her to leave.

"What? Oh….yes…yes of course." she stammered, hastily reapplying the old bandage. "I'll be very quiet when I make my next rounds….just in case you're still sleeping. And call me if you need me…for _anything_…..ok?" the nurse said as she slowly backed away from his bed.

Having become so distracted by her interaction with her alluring patient, she forgot to button up his pajama top and she continued to stare at him as she backed her way out of the room.

"I will." he replied as he struggled to keep from laughing after she backed into a chair and nearly fell onto it.

After the nurse was gone, Uncas puffed his cheeks as he blew his breath out of his mouth and shook his head as he began to refasten the buttons on his pajama top.

"She's gone." he said to Alice, giving her the all-clear.

"That _tart!_ She couldn't keep her hands _off_ you!" a jealous Alice complained as she sat up.

"I'm sorry, but I had to do that so I could find out when to make our move and how much time we'll have before anyone finds out we're missing." he said. "If I asked her what I wanted to know straight out, she would have gotten suspicious and gone straight to those doctors. I needed her to be distracted so she wouldn't realize what she was telling me."

"I know, but still…..that _trollop!"_

"Alice, _you_ are the woman I love, _not_ her. Do you have _any_ idea how hard it was for me to let her do that? There's only _one_ woman I _ever_ want to have touch me that way…..you!" said Uncas, whose warm smile and soft voice made Alice blush and look shyly away for a moment with a bright smile lighting up her face.

"So now I know what time we have to leave here tonight." said Uncas, who became all business again and returned his attention to the planning of their escape. "Now I just need to find us some clothes and some food, which means I'm going to have to watch those nurses to see where they keep those things."

"I might even pay them a visit at their meeting place down the hall."

* * *

"Well, fancy meeting the two of you here!"

Walking up to the nurses station, Richard joined Cora and Norman who, like himself, had come to talk with the head nurse on how things went with Uncas and Alice before calling it a day.

"Let me guess….you're both here to check on our favorite patients!" Richard continued in a lighthearted manner.

"Now what patients could you possibly be referring to?" Norman quipped back to his old friend while pretending to look thoughtful.

"You know, the three of us have to stop meeting like this or else people are going to talk." said Cora as she joined in with the fun. "I can't keep being seen with the likes of you two, I have my reputation to think of!"

"Good evening, doctors!" said the head nurse as she joined the chuckling threesome at the counter. "One of my nurses said you were looking for me?"

"Yes." replied Cora. "We just stopped by to see how everything went today with Uncas and Alice. No one paged us after this morning's incident so we presume everything went well?"

"Yes, very much so! Both of them were quiet and calm the rest of the day with no further incidents. Alice did sit with Uncas periodically, but most of the time she remained in her own bed, sewing that shirt she's making and the two of them rested quite a bit as well, taking several naps throughout the day. We did observe Uncas looking out the window in their room on several occasions and he also stood in the doorway casually watching people walk by. "

"He got out of bed again?" asked Norman, surprised that Uncas was strong enough to get up.

"Yes, he did."

"How did he seem?" Norman asked.

"He seemed fine! He was still very weak and he didn't stay out of bed for long, but he was calm and smiled at everyone...even when he was looking out the window. At one point, he even wandered up here to the nurses station to chat. He was very polite and friendly…even charming and he gave us no trouble at all when we suggested he go back to bed and rest." replied the head nurse.

"What did he want to chat about?" asked Cora, who was glad that Uncas had relaxed and was curious to know more about his unexpected behavior.

"Nothing in particular. He asked how we were doing, talked about the weather, asked if we knew that it was raining and commented on how much he loves to watch the rain, which is probably why he kept standing at the window. He also asked for some clean towels and wanted to know if he could take some fruit back to his room for a snack. Oh and he saw this vase of flowers on the desk and asked if he could have one of the daisies to give to Alice. That was pretty much it….just normal chit chat. Personally, I think he was bored!"

"Well _that's_ a big change from the way he was this morning!" said Richard.

"It certainly is. I hope this is an indication that he's coming to terms with what he saw outside." said Cora. "Did either he or Alice show any recognition of anything modern or say anything that might indicate their memories are coming back?"

"No, I'm afraid not." the nurse regretfully replied. "Except for our little chat with Uncas when he came to visit us, neither of them really talked to anyone, and they still don't recognize _anything_ modern. I had to explain what the _bathroom_ was for and how everything inside of it _worked!_ Uncas was mesmerized by the toilet and got a kick out of tossing pieces of toilet paper into it and watching them disappear after he flushed it. And as for Alice, she thought the shower was the greatest invention since ice cream and couldn't wait to try it out! And she kept going on and on to Uncas about it after she took one."

"How did Uncas react to the shower?" Norman asked the nurse. "Since his bandages are waterproof, I gave the ok for him to take one. Did he try it out for himself?"

"Yes, he did. He took one right after her and he agreed with her that it was like bathing under your own private waterfall. But that was about the extent of his reaction to it. He wasn't nearly as excited about it as Alice was."

"You mentioned Uncas was looking for a snack. How are their appetites?" asked Cora.

"Excellent! I was afraid after that incident this morning they'd be too upset and depressed to eat, but they both finished all of their lunch and they're polishing off their dinner as we speak."

"Thank you for the update. We were worried about how things would go today after what happened this morning." Norman told the nurse. "We're going to leave the hospital for a short time to get ourselves some dinner, but after that we're going to come back and spend the night in our offices. Page us _immediately_ if anything occurs, no matter _what_ the hour."

"Yes Dr. Harris." replied the nurse.

"Oh and by the way, just as a precaution we've issued orders for Uncas and Alice to be given a strong sedative before bedtime." Norman added.

"Just in case the two of them are entertaining the thought of having any…..nocturnal wanderings."

* * *

"Everything seems peaceful in there."

Heading down the hallway toward the double doors that exited the unit, Norman, Richard and Cora peeked in at their two patients as they passed by and saw Alice sitting in a chair next to Uncas' bed with her overbed table in front of her, both of them eating a hearty meal as they casually chatted with each other. Exiting the Inpatient Unit, the trio made their way to the elevator and waited for the door to open.

"You know, I'm glad we left them alone today." said Cora. "Normally I wouldn't do that with a patient after an incident like the one this morning, but I think leaving Uncas and Alice alone gave them a chance to calm down and settle in to their new room and routine. Tomorrow I plan to start working more intensely with them since they now know the truth about what year it is. Oh that's enough shop talk….I'm starving!"

"Norman and I are going to get a bite to eat down the street at the Bobcat Diner. Would you like to join us, Cora?" Richard asked.

"I'd love to but I'm afraid I can't. I'm driving over to my parents' farm for dinner tonight." she replied.

"They said there's something they want to talk to me about."

* * *

"Is that a new cat?"

Peering out the back door as she brought the salad bowl over to the kitchen table where her parents were seated, Cora spotted a runty-looking tawny colored tabby cat with short stubbly fur sitting among several other cats who were gathered around two large feeding bowls in the yard outside.

"Yes, that's our latest adoptee." Cora's mother replied. "We found him hanging out by the woodpile one day. After a couple of days went by and he was still there, we started feeding him and gradually he came to trust us. He's been here ever since. We named him Woody."

"Woody the Woodpile Cat! That's a creative name." Cora said while giving the older woman a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"When you get to know him, you'll see the name suits him perfectly." Cora's father replied.

Sitting at the large harvest table in their rustic farmhouse kitchen, Tom and Anna Van Houten smiled warmly at their daughter as she sat down to join them. A retired psychology professor and registered nurse respectively, Tom and Anna were now living their dream of a country life on their small hobby farm where they raised chickens, vegetables and apples, which they sold to local grocers and at the farmers market. Immensely proud of their only child, they enjoyed every opportunity they had to spend time with their busy daughter.

"Can you believe this weather?" Cora asked as she served herself some chicken and dumplings. "Here it is early August and yet you need to wear a jacket because it's so chilly outside. It'll probably get even chillier after dark."

"At least the rain stopped for a while, but it's supposed to start up again later tonight." said Anna.

"How are your two mystery patients doing?" Tom asked.

"Oh!" Cora groaned with a sigh of frustration. "I've _never_ seen a case like this before. What's so strange about it is they both seem so _genuine_….like they truly _are_ from the year 1757. I can't make any sense out of it other than they are both suffering from a combination of repressed memory and possibly even dissociative fugue brought on by the severe emotional trauma they suffered. It's too bad, too, because they really are a very sweet couple."

"I always understood dissociative fugue to be rare." said Tom.

"It is, it's extremely rare in fact, but in their case, it's almost a classic textbook example. And that's what makes this really weird. I could maybe see_ one_ of them suffering from those two types of amnesia at the same time, but both of them? And what's even stranger is how they've so perfectly adopted the identities of the_ real _Alice Munro and Uncas, and that they each believe that what happened to our ancestors' brother and sister is what happened to them.

"You mean getting killed by that Huron warrior, Magua, who had it in for Colonel Munro." replied Tom.

"That's right! _My _Uncas thinks he was stabbed by Magua and pushed off the cliff. Alice maintains that she attempted suicide because she thought Uncas was dead and wanted to be with him….and maybe that's what actually happened to the two of them. That man they arrested fought with Uncas, nearly killed him and pushed him off the edge. Then she jumped either to be with her boyfriend or jumped to avoid whatever fate awaited her at the hands of their attacker. And although the man they arrested is denying any involvement in this particular attack, it's possible he might have pushed _her_ off as well to eliminate an eyewitness to what he did to Uncas. Unless I can somehow get through to one of them, we may _never_ know what really happened up on the Promontory that day."

"Oh those poor kids." said Anna.

"I know. And I hate what's going to happen to them next. Since they've both recovered from their injuries enough to be released from the hospital in a few days, and since we can't locate their homes and no family members have come forward to claim them, the state has ruled they are unable to live independently and is going to have them committed to Claremont."

"No! They are _not_ going to Claremont!" her mother emphatically stated.

"They have to, Mom. Where _else_ can they go?"

_"__Here!_ They'll stay on the farm with us!"

"You've_ got_ to be kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. Your father and I are very serious about this. In fact, this is what we wanted to talk to you about. We're accepting custody of Uncas and Alice. We've taken in strays before. What's two more?" Anna lightheartedly added.

"Mom, these aren't a couple of cats you found wandering in the yard. These are two _very_ confused and _very_ scared individuals who truly believe they are from 18th century Colonial America. They can't even remember what a _light bulb_ is, let alone anything_ else_ that's modern! And there is no telling what will happen as time goes by. They may experience flashbacks, nightmares or any number of psychological disorders as they progress through their therapy. I don't think either of you know what you'd be getting yourselves into."

"Yes we do, honey." said Tom. "Your mother and I talked this over after you first told us about your patients the day after the attack took place. We knew those kids would be released to a mental health facility if no family members claimed them before the hospital discharged them. They don't _belong_ in a place like Claremont. What_ they_ need is to be in a warm, loving and nurturing home environment in order to recover. Not some cold, sterile psychiatric hospital. Living here with us, they'll be surrounded by all the familiar things that are in the average home and after they relax and settle in, your mother and I can watch for signs that they recognize something. That's not going to happen if they're in a psychiatric facility. Look, they're still going to remain your patients after they're released, right?" he asked.

"Yes, they will."

"Well then why can't you treat them here? They'll feel more relaxed and at home, _and _you'll be able to make more progress with them because of it. And_ don't_ worry about us. Your mother and I aren't exactly strangers to this kind of thing, you know. Remember, I taught psychology at the university for 25 years and we looked after your cousin Brandon for a while when he was diagnosed with PTSD after returning home from Iraq. We learned firsthand about the effects of post-traumatic stress during that time. We'll be ok with these two." Tom said with confidence. "We've already applied for custody and filed the necessary documents with the state and…..we've been approved. As soon as Uncas and Alice are ready to be released from the hospital, they have a home waiting for them." said Tom.

"Call it instinct, but I've got a strong gut feeling that this is the right thing to do."

* * *

_"__Hello!"_

Sitting together on Uncas' bed as they reviewed their plans for their escape later that night, Uncas and Alice fell silent and looked up at the chubby middle-aged nurse who cheerfully bustled her way into their room holding two small paper pill dispensing cups. While making her 10pm rounds, she was also dispensing the evening medications to all of her patients.

"Come on, Alice! It's time to get you tucked in for the night! You and Uncas will have to continue your little chat from your own beds." the jolly nurse told Alice, who obediently did as she was instructed.

Once Alice was in bed, the nurse handed her one of the paper cups which contained her usual nightly pain pill, along with another pill she'd never seen before. Accepting the glass of water the nurse handed her, she raised the paper cup to her mouth and tossed back her medication, then washed it down with the water. After taking back the empty pill cup, the nurse moved over to Uncas and handed him the other paper cup which, likewise, contained an extra new pill along with his pain medication. Watching closely as he also took his pills, the nurse smiled with satisfaction that both of her patients were now properly medicated as their doctors had ordered.

"Well then, since my shift will be ending soon I'll say goodnight now and I'll see you both tomorrow afternoon!" said the nurse.

"Sweet dreams!"

* * *

"I've just got to check on these two and I'll be done with my rounds."

Receiving a nod of acknowledgment from the head nurse, who herself had one more room to check, one of the night nurses quietly slipped into Uncas and Alice's room to see how they were doing. Knowing it would be another two hours before they were looked in on again, she wanted to be sure the sedatives they'd each been given earlier had taken effect. Finding the young couple were sound asleep, she quietly left the room so as not to disturb them. Meeting the head nurse in the hallway outside, she gave an update on Uncas and Alice to her superior.

"How are they doing?" asked the head nurse.

"They're both in a deep sleep. Those sleeping pills they were given earlier really knocked them out." replied the night nurse.

"I'm not surprised. They were both given a pretty heavy-duty sedative. They probably went to sleep not long after they took it."

Looking closely at the couple inside the room, the head nurse saw Alice curled up on her side with her mouth partly open, while Uncas was sprawled on his back with his face turned slightly toward his roommate.

"Come on. Let's get some coffee in the break room and a piece of that cake Debbie brought in before it's all gone." suggested the head nurse.

"We're not going to have to worry about _these_ two tonight."

* * *

_"__They're gone!"_

When the voices of the two nurses grew fainter as they chatted their way down the hallway, Uncas slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the door to make sure no one was visible before telling Alice the coast was clear. Having heard the nurses talking about sleeping medicine, Alice smiled proudly at Uncas as she sat up in her bed.

_"__You were so smart to suggest we not take any new medicines they might give us, and I'm glad that we practiced how to make it appear that we did take it."_ she whispered to him as he got out of bed and went to the door.

Cautiously peeking around the doorframe, Uncas saw that the hallway was empty and hurried back over to his bed while giving a nod to Alice, who was waiting for his signal to get up. Quickly removing the pillowcases from their pillows, they each filled them with the supplies they'd previously determined each would take. Darting into the bathroom, Alice stuffed several towels and washcloths into her pillowcase, then dashed back to her bed and filled the remainder of it with Uncas' shirt and the medical supplies she had stockpiled in her sewing basket. Filling his own pillowcase with the hastily folded blanket he removed from his bed, Uncas then removed the sling on his right arm and stuffed it inside as well. Not having been able to locate a supply of food and clothing, he hoped they'd be able to find the things they still needed before they left the building. Once the supplies had been gathered, they each put on their bathrobes, picked up their bulging pillowcases and nodded their readiness to each other. Holding a finger to his lips, Uncas motioned for Alice to follow him to the door and after rechecking the hallway and finding it was still empty, he gave her a quick kiss.

_"__Come on!"_ he whispered.

Slipping out of the room, they quickly headed for the large double doors they passed through that morning when they were brought downstairs from the ICU. Peering through the small window on one of the doors, they saw the hallway on the other side was also empty and opened the door just enough to get through it. Once outside the double doors, Uncas saw that the main hallway branched off into two separate directions. Confused as to which way to go, he stood in the middle of the intersection and looked up each new hallway as he tried to decide which one to take.

_"__Uncas, which way should we go?"_ Alice whispered as she looked up at him expectantly.

_"__I dunno. We have to find a way to get down….shhh!" _

Hearing voices and footsteps coming from around the bend in the hallway to their right, Uncas felt Alice grip his forearm as they both realized someone was approaching them. Frantically looking for a place to hide, he immediately eliminated several closed wooden doors as a possible refuge, not knowing who might be behind them. Spotting another door off to their left that had a small window on it and a large glowing red sign above it that read 'exit', he led Alice to it and after taking a quick look through the window to make sure no one was on the other side, they darted through the door and pushed it shut behind them, then pressed themselves against the wall next to it to hide.

Quickly looking around, the two escapees found themselves standing in the stairwell. Pleased that he'd inadvertently found the solution to how they were going to get to the ground floor, Uncas flashed a victory smile to Alice. Spotting bold black letters and numbers painted on the wall stating they were on the third floor, they took to the stairs and made their way as quickly as they could down flight after flight until they reached the ground floor. Peering through the window on the stairwell door, Uncas felt his stomach sink when he saw two security guards sitting at a desk on the opposite side of the hallway directly across from the door. Talking to the two guards were two uniformed police officers, who were waiting to transport an injured prisoner back to the jail. Thinking the four men were soldiers, Uncas believed his theory about a trap having been set for Nathaniel was right.

_"__What is it? What's out there?"_ Alice whispered after seeing the crestfallen expression on Uncas' face.

_"__Soldiers. There's four of them."_ he whispered back.

_"__What are we going to do?"_

_"__I dunno. We can't go out this door with those soldiers standing there and we can't go back upstairs. We'll have to keep going down."_

_"__But Uncas, we'll be in the cellar!"_

_"__I know, but we don't have any other choice. Maybe we'll find a way out down there. Come on!" _he told her.

Continuing down the last flight of stairs to the basement, Uncas held a finger up to his lips again and looked through the window on the stairwell door. Not seeing anyone, he slowly opened the door and stuck his head out and looked up and down the hallway. Pulling his head back in again, he nodded to Alice and led her out of the stairwell and into the reverberating basement hallway.

"We've entered the bowels of hell." Alice said softly.

Fighting back his confusion at their new surroundings, Uncas led Alice off to their left and the couple spent the next several minutes wandering down a maze of winding empty corridors which were full of strange sounds and vibrations coming from the various turbines and machinery that kept the hospital functioning. With no idea of where they were heading, they continued to explore one hallway after another until the echo-like sound of footsteps and whistling could be heard coming from somewhere up ahead.

_"__Quick, this way!"_ whispered Uncas as he spotted an open doorway on their right and pulled Alice by the hand into the laundry room.

Hiding on one side of the doorway behind a large canvas laundry hamper as a maintenance worker walked by outside, Uncas noticed a piece of paper hanging on the side of the hamper which read 'Charity Clothing Donations'. Once the sound of the whistling faded away, the two stood up and while Alice gaped in awe at the rows of large industrial washers and dryers that were in use, Uncas inspected the contents of the hamper and recognized the clothes inside as being similar to those worn by the people he saw walking about outside earlier that day. Grabbing Alice's arm and giving it a shake to get her attention, he nodded at the hamper and they quickly rummaged through it, looking for clothes and shoes that would fit them.

Having summoned up the courage to look out the window again with Uncas that afternoon, Alice tried her best to look for clothing similar to what she'd seen the women outside wearing. Knowing he had only worn moccasins his whole life, Alice handed Uncas the pair of men's socks she'd found so that he'd be more comfortable wearing the footwear he'd chosen for himself. After holding various pieces of clothing up to themselves and tossing them back into the hamper, they finally made their selections and looked around for a place to change.

_"__In here!"_ Uncas whispered as he ducked into a small supply room near the row of washers. Seeing no separate places within the room to provide privacy, the two turned their backs to each other and swiftly removed their sleepwear before putting on their new clothing. Wearing a pair of blue jeans, a longsleeved light blue denim shirt, an army green fatigue jacket and black combat-style boots; Uncas stuffed his pajamas, robe and slippers into the large canvas duffle bag he'd found, then shoved his pillowcase sack inside of it as well. Turning to see how Alice was doing, he found her dressed in an off-white peasant blouse with bell sleeves, a brown suede vest, a denim jacket, a dark blue denim button front skirt with a cream colored prairie-style underskirt and a low heeled granny boot worn over a black cotton knee-high sock. Having just finishing stuffing her sleepwear and slipper into a large nylon backpack along with her pillowcase sack, she smiled and nodded to indicate she was ready to continue.

Seeing she was ready, Uncas left the storage room and after inspecting the hallway, he signaled Alice to follow and the two once again resumed their search for a way out. Finally, after twenty minutes of wandering the seemingly endless corridors, Uncas stopped in his tracks when he felt a faint breeze blow across his face, accompanied by the wet smell of the rain that had stopped falling earlier that evening. Following the breeze, he led Alice down a short hallway and the two soon found themselves in the hospital's delivery area.

Studying this new place, Uncas saw numerous carts, boxes and crates of varying shapes and sizes, along with a forklift. On the wall ahead of him were four loading bay doors, three of which were closed but one being open with a sixteen foot produce truck backed up to it. Still feeling the breeze and smelling the dampness, Uncas followed it over to the open bay door and peeked through the narrow gap between the door and the back left corner of the truck box. As he scanned what little he could see of the service area parking lot, he suddenly felt weak from all of the physical activity he'd endured since leaving his hospital bed.

"Uncas, what is it? Are you alright?" asked Alice, who was instantly concerned when she saw him close his eyes and lean his head against the truck's door frame.

"I'm fine. I just need to sit down for a bit." he replied. Looking into the back of the produce truck, he saw stacks of wooden crates, half of which contained an assortment of fruits and vegetables while the other half were empty.

"Let's go in here. We can hide behind these crates." he told Alice after assuming that the truck's box was a storage room for food.

"Uncas, are you sure you're alright?" she asked him again as they concealed themselves behind several stacks of crates lined up in a row. Lying down beside Alice, Uncas placed the duffle bag alongside her leg and used the bag as a pillow.

"Yeah. I just need to close my eyes and rest for a little while, but if I nod off don't let me sleep for too long. We've got to put as much distance as we can between us and this place before morning. Let me know if you see or hear anything." he said before closing his eyes and immediately falling asleep.

With the dim light that filtered in from the delivery area, Alice glanced around the truck box at the various fruits and vegetables that were in the crates surrounding them. Taking advantage of the available food, she grabbed several bunches of carrots and a dozen apples and placed them inside of her backpack. Looking around to see what other food she could secure for them, she spotted a black L-shaped metal object lying on the floor nearby. Picking up the crowbar, she saw that whatever it was, it could serve as a weapon. Placing it beside her, she began to stroke Uncas' hair and kept watch as he slept.

"Don't worry, my love. I will keep us safe."

* * *

**Author's Note: **A little side note to this story. I had at one point in my life, the very great pleasure of knowing a cat whose name really was Woody the Woodpile Cat. He belonged to a neighbor and friend and the description of him in this story is exactly what he looked like. The only thing I didn't mention was that his face looked like the cartoon character Garfield the Cat. He was the dearest, sweetest little kitty I have ever known and I wanted to pay tribute to my furry little friend by giving him a place in this story.

My thanks to all who are reading this story and who have posted reviews and sent PMs. Knowing that you are following it and enjoying it gives me the encouragement I need to keep going with it! Let's see what happens to Uncas and Alice in chapter 6! MohawkWoman :) p.s. I miss you, Woody! xxoo


	6. Chapter 6: On the Run

***Disclaimer: I do not own Pat Benetar nor do I own the song "Shadows of the Night" and I make no profit by the song's use in this story. It is entirely for fun.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: On the Run **

"…tomorrow as soon as that shipment of broccoli comes in."

Several minutes after she began keeping watch from behind the crates stacked in the back of the produce truck, Alice was startled by the sound of a man's voice coming from somewhere outside of the opening to what she and Uncas thought was a storage room for food. Afraid of being seen, she ducked her head down low behind the crates and shook Uncas' shoulder to wake him as a second man's voice joined the first one.

"…I'll see you then. Have a good night!"

Waking immediately, Uncas sat up and was instantly on the alert as he also heard the last of the conversation between the driver of the truck and a kitchen employee as they bid each other goodnight outside of a service door in the delivery area. Hearing the service door close and soft footsteps growing closer, Uncas was wishing he had something to use as a weapon when he felt Alice hand him the crowbar. Running his hand up and down the metal rod to inspect it, he knew he could use it much like he would a tomahawk and he gripped it firmly with both hands.

Suddenly, a loud thunder-like rumbling noise filled the air, causing both Uncas and Alice to jump as the driver pulled down the roll-up door on the back of the truck and secured it in place. Plunged into total darkness, they looked out from behind the crates and saw their only means of escape from this room had somehow been blocked.

Realizing they were now trapped, the couple got up and groped their way over to the door. Feeling it with their hands, they discovered the entrance to the 'storage room' was now covered by a metal wall of some sort. Desperate to get out, they worked together to push on the door but no matter how hard they tried, they could not get it to budge in any direction. Deciding to check the side walls to see if perhaps there was another door he hadn't noticed before, Uncas was surprised to again feel metal under his hand instead of the wood or rock he'd expected the wall to be made of. While he was inspecting the side panel, another strange rumbling sound reverberated through the truck box as the driver started up the engine and pulled away from the hospital loading bay to make his last delivery of the night before heading home. Not expecting the truck to move, the two runaways fell to the floor after the sudden motion threw them off balance, and Uncas cried out in pain when he hit the two stab wounds on his back on the top edge of a crate.

"Aaaghh!"

_"__Uncas!_ _Uncas, what happened?" _Alice cried as she frantically reached around in the darkness until she found him.

"I just….hit the wound on my back….on one of the crates." he gasped through clenched teeth.

_"__Oh_ my god!"

"It's alright….It just hurt for a little bit…I'm fine now." he replied as he fought back the pain.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm sure. Come on. Let's get back to our hiding place. I think it's over here."

Crawling on their hands and knees while feeling their way around, the couple managed to locate where they'd been sitting and resumed their places behind the stack of crates. Feeling the movement of the truck and thinking about the metal walls, Uncas was trying to figure out what was happening when he recalled having a similar experience earlier that morning during his first elevator ride.

"I was wrong. This isn't a storage room at all! We're in one of those moving boxes."

"We could be, but I don't think so. It feels different than what we rode in this morning. I can't explain the noise, but the movement feels as though we are riding in a coach." said Alice.

"I think perhaps we are in some sort of covered wagon belonging to a merchant."

* * *

"We stopped moving."

After a ten minute ride through the streets of the city, the produce truck finally came to a halt in a back alley behind a restaurant in an upscale section of the downtown area. After shutting off the engine and getting out of the cab, the driver went around to the rear of his vehicle and opened the back door on the truck box, then rang the bell on the restaurant's delivery door.

Discreetly watching from his hiding place, Uncas saw the driver go inside the building and once the man was out of sight, he crept over to the tailgate. After making sure the area was clear, he gestured to Alice and the two stowaways shouldered their packs and quickly climbed out of the truck. Darting behind a nearby garbage dumpster, they peered out from behind it and stared in amazement at the vehicle they had just ridden in.

"What kind of a wagon is that? It doesn't have any horses hitched to it?" Uncas wondered out loud.

"Maybe they've already been taken to the stable." Alice reasoned with the only logical answer she could come up with.

"No. Nobody could have unhitched them and led them away that fast. How can a wagon move by itself?"

Pulling his attention away from the puzzling produce truck, Uncas redirected it on studying their surroundings to determine which direction they needed to go in order to reach Promontory Mountain. Knowing they needed to head north, he looked up at the night sky but was unable to locate the North Star because the sky was still overcast. Noticing an unusual orange tinge to the clouds and not knowing it was caused by the reflection of the city lights, a bewildered Uncas lowered his gaze and began to survey the alley as he tried to recall if his father had ever spoken of a phenomenon such as this.

"Where do you think we are?" asked Alice.

"I dunno, I don't know where that wagon took us to." Uncas replied as he looked up at the sky once again. "And I can't get a fix on which way to go because the stars are covered by the clouds. It's strange, too, because I've never seen the sky look that way before."

While Uncas tried to get his bearings, Alice became more and more concerned that he had injured himself when he fell against the crate. Pushing aside his jacket, she lifted up the back of his shirt and saw a small amount of blood on the large bandage covering the two wounds on his back.

"You're bleeding."

"What?"

"Your wound…the one you hit when you fell. It's bleeding a little. Let me get my supplies and I will tend to it." she said as she quickly slipped off the backpack she was wearing.

"There's no time for that now. It'll have to wait until later. We need to get out of here before someone sees us. Come on, we gotta keep moving." said Uncas.

"Which way should we go?" asked Alice.

Wishing they could just quietly slip out of the settlement unnoticed, Uncas knew this was impossible seeing as he did not know where the end of the settlement was. Seeing high walls and fences enclosing the alley, he knew they had no choice but to go out in the open and mingle with the people until he could find a way out of town.

"We'll go this way." he said, nodding toward the street in front of the restaurant where the sounds of the downtown area's nightlife could be heard. "Now remember, we have to blend in with everyone else, so matter how strange things may look or how scared you might be, you have to stay calm and act like you belong here. And we can't get separated so stay right next to me, alright?"

"Don't worry, I will. Wild horses could not pull me away from your side." replied a nervous Alice.

"Before we go, we oughta make sure we look alright. Here, turn around and let me look at you." said Uncas as Alice slowly twirled in a circle so he could inspect her."

"These clothes look good on you. They suit you better than the dresses you wore before. You look beautiful" he said warmly, which earned him a lovely smile.

"And you look quite handsome as well, my love." Alice replied in turn. "I just hope no one notices the bruises on your forehead."

"Me too. I wish I hadn't hit my head on a rock when I was tumbling down the river that day after I jumped through the falls. If anybody asks me what happened I'll just tell them I was thrown from a horse."

While Alice put her backpack on again, Uncas tucked the crowbar into his duffle bag and zipped it shut. Wondering why the rest of the Yengeese didn't use something as convenient as a zipper, he slung the bag over his shoulder and winced when it touched the wound on his back. Taking a couple of deep breaths as a fresh wave of pain subsided, he looked at the street that lay before them.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready." she replied.

"Then let's go."

* * *

"Remember, stay close to me."

Stepping out from behind the garbage dumpster, Uncas headed toward the street with a frightened Alice clinging to his arm. Coming to a halt next to the corner of the restaurant, they watched in astonishment as the nightlife of the city played out in front of them. Looking up and down a street lined with restaurants, bars, art galleries and high end shops; Uncas tried to comprehend not only the way the buildings looked, but also the people walking about and the variety of vehicles that passed them by as the sound of strange music and a woman singing filled the air.

_"You said, oh girl, it's a cold world _

_when you keep it all to yourself._

_I said, you can't hide on the inside _

_all the pain you've ever felt._

Terrified at what lay before her, Alice wanted nothing more than to retreat back into the comforting shadows of the alley, but when she tried to turn and run, Uncas held her back. Keeping his own fears at bay, he mustered up all of the confidence he could find within himself and, giving her an encouraging look, he stepped out onto the street.

_'__Ransom my heart, but baby don't look back_

_'__cause we got nobody else.'_

With Alice close beside him, he headed to their left, walking behind a man standing at an ATM machine on the outside of a bank on the other corner of the alley. As they walked by him, Uncas and Alice were both surprised that the music they were hearing was blaring out of the open windows of the man's car which was parked next to the curb. Walking over to the car, the couple peered inside and saw that, despite the fact that the sound of the singing woman and the strange music was plainly coming from inside of the vehicle, there was no one in it. Not knowing the music was coming from the car's CD player, Uncas firmly took hold of Alice's hand and led her away from the mysterious 'horseless coach'.

_'__We're running with the shadows of the night.  
So baby take my hand, it'll be all right.  
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight.  
They'll come true in the end.'_

Holding their heads high as they each put on a brave face, Uncas and Alice had just begun to walk along the sidewalk when their attention was caught by flashing multicolored lights on the other side of the street. Spotting what they thought were two soldiers, the couple watched as two uniformed police officers wrote a speeding driver a ticket. Seeing one of the officers glancing his way, Uncas pulled Alice by the arm and rapidly faced her toward the window of an art gallery so that their backs were to the officers.

_'__You know that sometimes, it feels like  
it's all moving way too fast.  
Use every alibi and words you deny,  
that love ain't meant to last.'_

Feeling Alice beginning to tremble, Uncas glanced down and saw a tear run down her cheek as she stared blankly into the gallery and bit her lower lip in fear that they had been discovered. Putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close to him, he kissed her forehead as he shot a glance at the policeman to see if he was still watching them.

_'__You can cry tough, baby.  
It's all right.  
You can let me down easy  
but not tonight.'_

Seeing the officer was paying no attention to them, Uncas turned Alice away from the gallery window. Once again taking her hand firmly in his, he fell in step between two small groups of people passing behind them and the couple melted into the crowds on the busy street while the music coming from the car continued to play in the background.

_'__We're running with the shadows of the night.  
So baby take my hand, it'll be all right.  
Surrender all your dreams to me tonight.  
They'll come true in the end.'_

* * *

_"__Ohhhh!…man!...believe that?...he almost had….!"_

Hearing a jumble of loud voices coming out of an open doorway, Uncas paused for a moment in front of it and looked inside a bar that was full of happy, noisy patrons; some of whom were engrossed in watching a baseball game on the bar's television set. Having seen a tavern while trading furs in Castleton the previous year, he knew immediately what this establishment was, but was still amazed at how different the two were. Watching several people as they drank from their glasses, Uncas suddenly realized he was extremely thirsty.

"We should have brought water with us. I could sure use some about now." he said to Alice.

"Perhaps we can find a well. There should be many of them in a town this size." she suggested.

"I haven't seen anything that looks like a well so far, but then _nothing_ about this place looks like anythingI've ever seen before." replied Uncas. "Let's keep our eyes open. This looks like a popular part of town, so there must be a place to get water somewhere around here."

Continuing their way down the street past more galleries and shops, the two runaways approached a restaurant that was now closed for the night. Upon hearing voices coming from the parking lot on the side of the building, Uncas stopped to watch as a young waitress from the restaurant said goodnight to her manager after the two had closed up the place for the night. Backing out of the way as the manager drove his car out of the lot, Uncas looked again at the woman as she walked over to her own vehicle and decided to take a chance and trust her in order to ask for help.

_"__Excuse me, miss?"_ he called out.

Stopping in her tracks next to the trunk of her car after hearing a deep male voice behind her, the startled waitress reached for the can of mace hanging on her keychain as she turned around, but let go of it when she saw a young woman clinging to the arm of a haggard-looking Native American man standing a short distance away. Despite the couple's outwardly calm appearance, she saw the frightened look in the girl's eyes and, judging from the bruises on the young man's forehead along with the way he was holding his right arm pressed against his side, she assumed he'd gotten hurt in a bar fight.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Can you tell us where we can find some water?" asked Uncas.

"Water?"

"Yeah. Is there a well or a stream nearby?"

"You're kidding me, right?" the woman replied.

"Please, miss." Alice pleaded. "All we want is some water. We're not familiar with this town and we don't know where to find it."

"Life on road's getting a little tough for you?" the woman sarcastically asked, assuming by their appearance in the mixed variety of worn clothing they were wearing that they were transients. "Never mind. It's none of my business. You_ do_ look like hell, though. Look, I don't have any water but….here's twenty dollars….it's all I can spare. I got kids, you know?" she said with an apologetic shrug. "Anyway, there's a Lucky Diamond convenience store on the corner up the street. You can buy water in there."

"Thank you, miss." said Uncas, who smiled and nodded gratefully as he accepted the money, while at the same time not understanding why they needed to _buy_ water.

"Forget it! I've been there myself once or twice in my life."

Turning away, the woman walked around to the driver's side door of her car. Before getting in, she took one more look at the couple as they slowly walked away and her heart went out to them when she noticed for the first time that the young man was very weak and in obvious pain, and that the girl was lovingly supporting him despite the fact that she had a booted brace on her leg and was limping badly. Feeling a drop of water splash on her cheek, the waitress realized it was starting to rain again.

"Oh, _fuck! HEY!" _she shouted out to them. Stopping, Uncas and Alice turned around as the woman hurried over to them.

"Here, take this." she said as she handed Uncas more money. "It's another hundred and twenty dollars. It's everything I made in tips tonight. After you get the water, keep going up the street for another six blocks until you reach the highway and you'll come to The George Road Inn. The place isn't fancy, but it's clean, comfortable and cheap. Ask for Artie and tell him Amanda sent you and said to give you a break with no questions asked. There's an all-night diner next door too if you're hungry. This'll be enough money to pay for the water, the room and some food."

"Miss, we can't take all of your…." Uncas began to say before the woman cut him off.

"Sure you can! I mean what the hell, it's only money, right? Besides, like I said, I've been there. Look, I gotta get home or else the sitter's gonna charge me extra. Take care of yourselves, ok?" she said. Smiling in return to the grateful thank yous Uncas and Alice gave her, the waitress's smile gradually faded from her face as she watched them walk out of the parking lot and disappear around the corner of the restaurant.

"Jeez, I hope they'll be ok."

* * *

"That must be it."

Following the waitress's directions, Uncas and Alice continued on up the street until they came to the intersection where the convenience store was located. Not knowing what he was looking for, Uncas stood on the corner and studied the area in search of a well. Spotting a large illuminated sign which read 'Lucky Diamond' on the roof of a building on the opposite corner, he remembered the waitress saying the watering place they were looking for would be called that.

"Seems like a strange place to get water." Uncas added.

"Everything _about_ this town is strange." replied Alice. "I cannot wait to leave here."

"Me too. Come on, let's go. We'll get as much water as we can carry with us." he said.

"What will we put it in?" she asked as they hurried across the relatively quiet street.

"I dunno. Maybe they'll have some water skins or a bucket we can use. If not, we'll have to make due somehow."

Crossing the store's small parking lot, the couple stopped in front of the double glass doors on the building's entrance. Placing his hand on the glass, Uncas gave one of the doors a push and frowned when it didn't open. After pushing on it several more times, he finally noticed a small sign on the glass next to the handle that read 'Pull'. Seeing the handle was the only thing to grab onto, he took hold of it and gave it a good tug. Nearly knocked off balance when the door easily swung open, he was equally as startled by the sound of bells jingling. Cautiously stepping inside the brightly lit store with a wide-eyed Alice in tow, Uncas turned and looked at the door as it closed behind them and saw a leather strap with sleigh bells attached to it hanging off the inside door handle.

Quickly surveying the store for other people, he found that the only other person there was an older man with grey hair, who was intently watching them from behind the counter. Not liking the way the man was glaring at them, Uncas looked around for the well he was expecting to find, but instead saw rows of shelving units stocked with a variety of merchandise. Not seeing a source for water, he leaned over to Alice.

"Let's get out of here." he whispered in her ear. "I don't see any water and I don't like the way that man is staring at us."

"Can I help you find anything?" the man finally asked as the couple started to leave.

"We're looking for water. We were told we could find some here." Uncas warily replied as he and Alice turned back to face the night clerk.

"It's back there in that middle section." said the man as he pointed to the refrigerated beverage cases lining the back wall of the store.

Following the direction the clerk was indicating, Uncas looked toward the back of the store, but did not seeing anything that even remotely resembled what he was looking for. After debating whether or not to trust this unfriendly Yengeese, he decided the need to find water far outweighed the risk.

"Come on." Uncas whispered as he placed his hand on Alice's back and guided her toward one of the aisles.

Casting several glances over his shoulder at the night clerk, who was still watching them suspiciously from behind the counter, Uncas led Alice down an aisle lined with candy on one side and bags of snack chips on the other. Not knowing what any of it was, they were both intrigued and bewildered by the brightly colored merchandise. Arriving at the beverage cases lining the back wall, the two stared in amazement at the rows of bottles containing liquids of every color imaginable that filled the cases.

"Do you see anything that looks like water?" Uncas whispered.

"No. I don't know what _any_ of these bottles contain. Cola…soda…sport drink?" Alice whispered back as she read some of the labels out loud. "What is all of this?"

"He said the water was in the middle. Is that it over there?" asked Uncas after he spotted a section containing clear bottles. Walking a few cases down, he looked through the glass door and studied the labels.

"Here it is." he said to Alice.

"Why are there so many different kinds? It's all water, isn't it?" she asked as she came alongside Uncas.

"I guess so." he said while pulling open one of the doors on the case.

"Which ones should we take?"

"We'll take these, they're the biggest ones." replied Uncas as he grabbed a couple of one liter bottles from the case and handed them to Alice. "Let's each take two of them and get out of here. I don't like that shop keeper." Heading back up to the front of the store, they placed the four bottles of water on the counter.

"Is this gonna do it for you?" the night clerk asked.

"What do you mean?" replied Uncas, who did not understand what the man was asking.

"What I mean is, do you need anything else or is this it?" the man impatiently reiterated.

"No, we don't need anything else. Just the water." said Uncas.

"Ok, then that'll be seven dollars and fourteen cents."

Reaching into the pocket of his fatigue jacket, Uncas pulled out the handful of twenty dollar bills the waitress in the parking lot had given him. Having always dealt with silver coins when trading in all the other Yengeese settlements, he did not understand how to pay with these printed pieces of paper. Looking to Alice for help, he saw her shake her head while raising her eyebrows to indicate she didn't understand this new kind of money either. Not knowing what else to do, Uncas handed the man one of the twenty dollar bills, then put the rest of the money back into his pocket before handing Alice two of the water bottles. Picking up the remaining two bottles, he motioned her towards the door, but just as they began to walk away from the counter, the night clerk called out to them.

_"__Hey!_ You forgot your change!"

"My what?" asked Uncas as he and Alice stopped and turned around.

"Your _change!_ The total came to seven dollars and fourteen cents. You gave me a twenty, which means you got twelve dollars and eighty five cents coming back to you.

Staring at the man for a moment before looking at the money in his hand, Uncas set his two bottles back down on the counter, then took the change and stuffed it into his jacket pocket with the rest of the money.

"Thank you." he told the man as he picked up the water bottles again and guided Alice out the door.

Watching them leave, the annoyed clerk shook his head in disgust.

"Where the hell did _those_ two come from?"

* * *

Continuing up the street after leaving the convenience store, Alice and a weary Uncas walked for several more blocks in a light drizzle of rain in search of a place to rest before coming to a small grassy park in the tree covered courtyard of a large stone church. Sitting down to rest on a wrought iron bench situated under a large maple tree, Uncas closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back against the tree trunk while Alice settled down next to him. Desperately thirsty, he reopened his eyes and attempted to open one of the water bottles for a much needed drink. Assuming the white plastic cap was some sort of cork stopper, he gave it a tug to remove it from the bottle. When the cap didn't come off, he pulled on it several more times with no results.

"What's the matter?" Alice asked when she noticed he was struggling with the bottle.

"I can't get the plug to come out." Uncas replied as he inadvertently gave the cap a twist while trying to get a better grip on it. Hearing a crackling noise as the cap moved, he continued to turn it and both he and Alice were surprised when it came off. Studying the threads on the inside of the cap and on the bottle top, Uncas screwed the cap back on and then off again.

"Huh! It's not a stopper at all, it's some sort of a lid that you twist to take off and put on again." he said while handing the bottle to Alice so that she could take a drink. "I don't understand why everything is so different in this settlement." he added as she handed the bottle back to him.

Taking a long drink himself, he gave the bottle back to Alice again and the two shared several more drinks before Uncas notice the bottle was already half empty. Not knowing when they'd be able to find more water, he suggested they drink sparingly from now on so as to make their supply last as long as possible. Leaning his head back against the tree trunk again, Uncas closed his eyes and savored the feel of the cool night air and the refreshing raindrops that gently pattered down onto his upturned face. Despite the chill in the air, he felt hot, tired and extremely weak, and he knew he could not travel much farther. He had also noticed Alice was limping badly and the need to find shelter became his next priority. Glancing around the small park, he ruled it out as a place to stay.

"We gotta find a place to sleep for the night." he told her. "I can't go much farther and neither can you. I've seen the way you're limping and I don't know how I made it this far. We both need to rest or neither one of us will be able to walk at all tomorrow."

"Let me check your wound." said Alice, whose concern for him was growing. Pushing the jacket out of the way and lifting his shirt, she peeled back the bandage and discovered it was much bloodier than before. Reapplying the bandage, she next put her hand on his forehead.

"You're still bleeding and your head feels warm. I know you wanted to hide in the forest tonight, but we don't know how much farther away it is and you shouldn't be out in this cold, wet rain. Perhaps we should look for the inn that woman told us about."

"I don't think we should take a chance staying there. We'll find someplace else."

_"__Please,_ Uncas. An inn will be warm and dry and will have a comfortable bed for you to rest in." Alice pleaded.

"Alright, we'll go to the inn. Considering the shape we're both in and the fact that we don't know where we are, I guess we don't have any other choice." Uncas relented after weighing their options. Rising to his feet, he fought off a brief flash of dizziness and grabbed Alice's shoulder to steady himself.

"Uncas?" she fearfully asked.

"I'm fine. My head took to spinnin' for a little bit there. I'm alright now." he assured her as he shouldered his duffle bag. "Come on. Let's go find that inn." he said as he took her hand and started walking up the street again towards the highway, which was now only a few more blocks away.

"I'm starting to look forward to lying on that bed you mentioned."

* * *

"….and I want all team leaders to report in immediately as soon as your floor is cleared."

Joining Cora, Norman and Richard in the makeshift command center that had been set up in a corner of the hospital cafeteria, Detective Frank D'Angelo hooked his walkie talkie back on his belt as he and his partner, Chris Porter, leaned over a table and studied a blueprint of the hospital as they spearheaded the search for Uncas and Alice.

"Ok, we've got teams doing a sweep of each floor searching every square inch, every nook and cranny in this hospital, including the basement. And we've got every exit blocked as well, including elevators and stairwells. Nobody's getting in or out of this place without their identity being verified first. Wherever those two are, we'll find 'em." said Porter.

"That's if they're still here." replied an anxious Cora.

"You really think they've already left the building?" asked Porter.

"Yes, I do."

"I don't agree, Cora." said Richard. "I think they're still here. I think they either went exploring or maybe they_ did_ try to leave; but they didn't realize how large a modern trauma hospital such as this one is and how complex a layout it has, so they quickly got lost and became scared and hid somewhere. Seeing as how they don't remember anything modern, they wouldn't have a clue as to how to find their way out of here."

"Unless Uncas began to remember. I had a feeling when I talked with him and Alice after the incident yesterday morning that his memory might have been starting to come back to him. Maybe it did." she replied.

"Well just in case they did manage to leave the hospital, I had an APB issued for two missing psychiatric patients." said D'Angelo.

"APB?" asked Richard, who was unfamiliar with the police terminology.

"It means 'all points bulletin' and it went out to every police agency in the state." explained D'Angelo. "I emphasized that the patients are not a threat and will be mentally confused and that if seen, they are to be treated in a calm and gentle manner. If they did manage to find their way out of here, it'll be easy to spot two people wandering around the streets in pajamas and bathrobes."

"Dr. Van Houten, you mentioned an incident of some sort. Tell us what happened yesterday." said Porter.

"After Uncas was released from the ICU, we transferred both him and Alice down to the third floor Inpatient Unit." Cora explained. "Until I had a chance to prepare them for what they'd see outside, we'd been keeping any windows they were near covered. But because Alice was so completely focused on Uncas and showed no curiosity about her surroundings, and because we felt Uncas was still far too weak to get out of bed, we didn't cover the window in their room with anything more than a heavy drapery. Apparently we severely underestimated the two of them because, after only having been in their new room a few minutes, they both went to the window and looked outside."

"How did they react to what they saw?" asked D'Angelo.

"They were pretty shook up at first, but after we got them back into bed and left them alone for a little while, they both calmed down and I was able to talk to them about what they saw. That's when I told them it wasn't the year 1757." said Cora. "Uncas took the news fairly well, all things considered, but I couldn't get a feel for what Alice was thinking. In any case, we had the nurses keep a close watch on them and they said everything went fine with no problems whatsoever. Uncas even surprised us by getting out of bed several times throughout the day to either look out the window or stand in the doorway of the room. They said he even wandered down to the nurses station to visit with them. That night, as a precaution, Dr. Harris and Dr. Spencer ordered a very strong sedative to be given to each of them on the odd chance they would try to wander about during the night."

"I don't understand. If they were both heavily sedated, then how the hell were they able to get up and take off?" asked Porter.

"The sedatives we ordered were in pill form." explained Norman. "We knew Uncas would never allow us to give either of them an injection and that he'd fight us if we tried to. By giving them an oral dose of the sedative, we were able to slip it in with their usual evening medication. The nurse who gave them their meds was certain they both took them, but I think they somehow managed to fake taking the pills. After we found they were missing, we conducted a thorough search of their room but couldn't find the meds anywhere. Personally, I think all of this was Uncas' idea and he probably flushed the pills down the toilet."

"Sounds like Uncas is a pretty clever guy!" said D'Angelo.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to find out he's a lot like his namesake. Uncas is a Mohican word that means fox." said Norman.

"I'm liking this guy more and more!" D'Angelo replied with a smile.

"So what are we looking at here in terms of a time frame?" asked Porter.

"Well, in the Inpatient Unit, rounds are made every hour from 7am to 11pm. Then, between 11pm and 7am, they are made every two hours." Richard explained. "The sedatives were administered during the 10pm rounds. When eleven o'clock came along, the nurse who checked on them said they were both sound asleep, but when they were checked on again later during the 1pm rounds, she found their beds empty."

"So that means they had as much as a two hour head start before they were discovered to be missing. That's a long time. They could be _anywhere."_ said Porter.

_"__Oh god!"_ moaned Cora.

"Detectives, I am _very_ worried about Uncas." said Norman, who looked visibly upset. "He is in_ no_ condition to be out of bed like this. It's bad enough he kept getting up all day long and moving about. There's no telling _what_ he's been doing since he disappeared. His body is _not_ ready yet for this kind of physical activity. I just hope we can find him before…."

"Before what?" a concerned D'Angelo asked Norman after he let his voice trail off without finishing his sentence.

"Before he unintentionally kills himself."


End file.
